Vino 2011 or Italian Wine Week is here and I am truly excited. I’ll be taking part in some of the initiatives but couldn’t get into some great seminars. Everything filled up so quickly. I guess that’s a testament to just how interested people continue to be in Italian wine. That’s no surprise to me because it is my main focus everyday but it’s still great to see. I will also get to see old friends and hopefully make some new ones. I know I did last year.

On Monday, I’ll be at the Nasdaq which is very exciting, to watch Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere, parent company of Vinitaly ring the closing bell together with two great women in wine, Marilisa Allegrini and Cristina Mariani-May of Banfi.

I’ve never been to the Nasdaq and I’m exited to participate and to get back to my three of my favorite subjects, Italy, Women in Wine and economics. As a former financial reporter, I like the symmetry of it all when related to my own life.

Later that evening I will be at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge facility where Vinitaly is holding a private wine tasting of Allegrini and Banfi wines to raise money for cancer research. I went to visit Hope Lodge recently and I was very impressed with the facility which hosts one caregiver and one patient from different countries while they undergo out patient care.

I look forward to both events and to Vino 2011 in general.