Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) certified 27 Italian Wine Ambassadors — including two reconfirmations — following the 36th edition of its Italian Wine Ambassador program, held October 25–26, 2026, at Banville Wine Merchants in New York. The event drew 36 wine professionals and trade-adjacent participants for two intensive days of tastings, coursework, and formal examination.

The Numbers

Candidates tasted 47 Italian wines across multiple guided sessions and sat a three-part exam: a blind tasting of two wines, short-answer questions, and a multiple-choice test. Keith Mattrick was named Best Student of the New York 2026 edition; Allison Sheardy took the top blind-tasting award; Pietro Buttitta won best multiple-choice score; and the best video project prize went jointly to Amy Duffin, Allison Sheardy, and Natalie Travis. The cohort brings VIA's cumulative certified ambassador count to 550, of whom 22 hold the higher Italian Wine Expert designation. The broader VIA Community now exceeds 1,500 members spanning more than 57 countries.

Market Context

The New York session ran in parallel with Vinitaly.USA and the wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum — also staged in New York — positioning the certification event within a concentrated week of Italian wine trade activity targeting North American buyers, importers, and on-premise professionals. Italy remains one of the leading import wine categories in the United States by volume and value, and credentialed ambassador networks have become an increasingly common tool for origin-controlled appellations seeking to deepen retailer and sommelier literacy. The New York edition followed a Toronto session in June 2026, reflecting VIA's deliberate sequencing through major North American wine markets.

Sarah Heller MW, VIA Faculty member who led the course, described the cohort as "a very big, super impressive group of amazing wine professionals from all over North America and beyond," adding that the return of candidates who had previously attempted the exam was "heartening." The pinning ceremony took place at Pier 36's wine2wine Brooklyn room on October 26, presided over by Heller alongside Giovanni Sacripante, General Manager of Veronafiere, and Stevie Kim, Managing Partner of Vinitaly.

What's Next

VIA's next Italian Wine Ambassador certification course is scheduled for April 14–18, 2027, in Verona — the program's annual flagship session, held in conjunction with the Vinitaly trade fair. For trade buyers and foodservice operators looking to build category expertise ahead of that edition, recent coverage of Italian wine's on-premise performance and the competitive landscape for wine education credentials offer useful context. The academy's institutional advisory board includes Italian trade associations Federdoc, Federvini, Vignaioli Indipendenti FIVI, and Unione Italiana Vini, with vine-genetics scholar Prof. Attilio Scienza serving as Chief Scientist.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.