Italian Signature Wines Academy
Company background: ISWA was founded in November 2014 by five Italian wine producers Allegrini (Valpolicella-Veneto) Feudi di San Gregorio (Campania); Fontanafredda (Piedmont); Frescobaldi (Tuscany) and Planeta (Sicily). The founding members quickly formed an influential and strategic coalition active in both the domestic and foreign markets. In the four years since its foundation, they have been joined by Arnaldo Caprai of Umbria, Villa Sandi located in the most prestigious production area of Prosecco in Veneto and Masciarelli in Abruzzo.
Fun Fact: The ISWA budget is mostly destined to promotional activities on foreign markets. When we leave all together, from eight such important wineries (export managers, PRs, senior members and the same producers) to go to an important event or fair, there are so many of us that we really look like a championship football team eager to win every match played on the world field.
Proudest achievement: In just a few years, ISWA has achieved commercial results in areas such as travel retail, acquiring important contractual weight as players in this sector. We are equally satisfied to obtain the attention of important global wine and spirits monopolies. But what we are really proud of, is that Italian Signature Wines Academy is not only a strategic vehicle for premium Italian wines, but also a driving force for the promotion, training and culture of “made in Italy” and for the enhancement of the enormous value of Italian goods, in a similar way to the world of fashion or design.
Finally, as our name suggests, the group has also an educational function, helping to promote Italian wine culture through special partnerships with the most important Italian universities. We have finalised an agreement with Vita-Salute San Raffaele University as one of the main supporters of its postgraduate degree in “food and wine philosophy”.
Future goals: We’re working on new projects aimed at transforming us more and more into a true point of reference all over the world in terms of high-level Italian wines. We are also carefully studying the possibilities offered by certain emerging African markets, and in a year, we would like to see the first steps taken to cross successfully into these new frontiers for Italian wine export
Ask them about: The six wines that they’ll be exhibiting from producers including Villa Sandi, Frescobaldi, Allegrini, Fontanafredda, Masciarelli and Planeta.
