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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT Vinitaly Rings Closing Bell at NASDAQ anuary 24 marked a signifi cant day in the world of Italian wine. Vinitaly—the organization responsible for promoting Italian wines throughout the world—was joined by top Italian wine producers Banfi and Allegrini to close the NASDAQ bell, together with executives from The American Cancer Society. J In Memoriam A From left to right: Kris Kim, COO of The American Cancer Society; Deb McKeever, Manhattan Board of Advisors President for The American Cancer Society; Cristina Mariani-May, Co-CEO of Banfi Vintners; Nicola Moscardo, Board Member of Veronafi ere; Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafi ere; Marilisa Allegrini from Allegrini Wines; and Stevie Kim, General Coordinator of Vinitaly International. GIC Importers has been its own distributor in the state of California, and Titan Wine & Spirits, a new division, will become an inde- pendent state-wide organization. “As we grow Titan Wine & Spirits, we will be adding more sales people and more team manag- ers, which will provide an even larger increased presence out in the California marketplace,” says Alex Guarachi, TGIC founder and CEO. “We also look forward to welcom- ing new, up-and-coming brands.” ohnnie Walker Gold can be savored and chilled in a new outer pack cre- ated by French design fi rm QSLD Paris. Simply freeze the bottle and put it in the Ice Pillar. www.QSLD.com Chillin’ Whisky J 10 / the tasting panel / march 201 1 TGIC Importers Launches Titan T With this in mind, Guarachi decided to double his sales force to 50 people—to start with. This includes three new broad-market managers and two new chain managers. At the helm of the new division will be Jim Moeller, Vice President of Sales. He will report to Bob Guinn, Senior Vice President and General Manager. Moeller’s career spans almost three decades in the wine industry; he was most recently Senior VP at Don Sebastiani & Sons. b Simon, who as the longtime chairman of the Seagram Chateau & Estate Wines Company was a commanding fi gure in the American wine trade and a leading importer of fi ne Bordeaux to the United States, died in late January at his home in Manhattan. He was 88. Simon, an Iraqi who found his way into the wine business after emigrating to the United States, was recruited by the Bronfman family in 1974 to establish a fi ne- wine division for its giant distilled spirits company, Joseph Seagram & Sons. Mr. Simon, reasoning that the new division would be selling château wines from Bordeaux and estate wines from Burgundy, the Rhône and the Loire, proposed the name Château & Estate. The company added “Seagram” ten years later. From that, Simon built Château & Estate into a powerful force in the wine market. Craft Spirits Conference & Vendor Expo Annual Craft Spirits Conference & Vendor Expo will take place April 4–8 at the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon. Some of the fi nest noses in the industry will be judging brandies, whiskies, fruit spir- T its and grappa from producers across North America. Register at www.distilling.com or contact: Bill Owens, President ADI, bill@distilling.com, 510-886-7418. he American Distilling Institute’s 8th