Giovanni Manetti didn’t think he was going to make it to the 2024 New York Wine Experience. The growing season was long in Tuscany this year, and grapes for Manetti’s legendary Fontodi winery were still hanging on the vine in mid-October. So he dispatched his son with several cases of their super Tuscan Flaccianello 2008 to pour at the Grand Tastings in New York City.
But then came a reprieve. The day before the event, Manetti finished picking the last grapes and got them into tanks. He caught a flight from Rome to New York the morning of the Grand Tasting. “My first Wine Experience was in 1996,” said a relieved Manetti. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
For nearly 2,000 people, the opening night of the 43rd Wine Experience was a can’t-miss event. Oct. 17 was the first of two Grand Tastings, kicking off three days of wine, food, seminars and fun at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square. This year’s event promised a chance to celebrate during uncertain times, to embrace old friends and make new ones while raising a glass (or many glasses) to the way wine can bring us all together.
“This is one of those unique events where you get an opportunity to try truly the most amazing wines in the world,” said Dan Abrams, owner of Ev&Em Vineyards on Long Island and chief legal correspondent for ABC News. “I don’t think there’s a wine event quite like this one.”
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Across two floors of the hotel, guests were able to explore the offerings from more than 260 wineries, each pouring a wine that has been rated 90 points or higher by a Wine Spectator editor. Winery owners and winemakers were on hand so attendees could meet the people behind the wines.
“What I love about the New York Wine Experience is you get all amazing different wines here and the people that are real aficionados of wines,” said Josh Scott, co-owner of New Zealand’s Allan Scott winery. “And so even though New Zealand is young, people want to come and try the wine and meet the producers. It’s a really good quality crowd.”
Tasting 260 wines in one night is not feasible, so guests needed a strategy. They could tackle the list from A to Z, from the Douro red wine of Portugal’s Adriano Ramos-Pinto to the Argentine Malbec of Zuccardi Valle de Uco. Or they could build a tasting menu, starting with a bubbly like Ca’ del Bosco Dosage Zéro Franciacorta Annamaria Clementi Riserva 2014 or a Champagne like Bollinger La Grande Année 2015, trying whites like Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Powder House 2021, moving onto a red like Bodegas Vega Sicilia Ribera del Duero Unico 2014 or Castellare di Castellina Toscana I Sodi San Niccolò 2019, and finishing with a dessert wine like Château Suduiraut Sauternes 2013.
Or they could cherry pick from the greatest hits: The highest-scoring wines of the night included Argiano Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Suolo 2019 (98 points), Château Cheval Blanc St.-Emilion 2015 (98), Harlan Estate Napa Valley 2018 (99) and Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2010 (99).
“I consider wine as one of those products that allows you to travel and explore the world and discover cultures, and it's a great way to interact, to discover a country, discover their food, discover their wines, learn about a culture,” said Adrian Bridge, CEO of Portugal’s Fladgate Partnership.
Tasting for a Cause
The Wine Experience would not be possible without the incredible generosity of vintners who donate all the passion-inducing wines of the weekend. All net proceeds from the event go to the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation, which has raised more than $40 million for scholarships and grants for the hospitality and wine industries.
Foundation beneficiaries have included students at Napa Valley College, the University of California at Davis School of Viticulture & Enology, The Roots Foundation, Sonoma State University's Wine Business Institute, Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and the Culinary Institute of America, among others.
By the end of the evening, old wines had been tasted and new friendships had been formed. And thankfully, there was another night of Grand Tasting scheduled for 24 hours later. “What I love is how wine connects people and how I get to meet a lot of great personalities here at this event, and then they get to meet my family’s wines,” said Shannon Staglin, co-owner of Staglin Family Vineyard. “I think that wine connects humanity and brings people together, and today we need that more than ever.”
—With reporting by Collin Dreizen and Julia Larson
