My friends at the Italian trade agency (ITA/ICE) are conducing a series of educational courses billed as world-class, intensive and immersive and open to people working in the trade including somms, beverage directors, retailers, suppliers, importers, distributors, reps and media.

My understanding is it will be a “lite” version of Stevie Kim’s Vinitaly International Academy.

The NY event (May 14-16) is just about full but here’s the list of the other confirmed cities and dates:

CHICAGO, IL: June 4-6, 2019

COLUMBUS, OH: July 23-25, 2019

WASHINGTON, DC: July 30-Aug. 1, 2019

DENVER, CO: Sept. 17-19, 2019

MIAMI, FL: Sept. 23-25, 2019

Courses will also be held in 2020 in Los Angeles, Dallas, Philly and Boston with dates TBD.

Here’s the link to sign up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf1xhMR8da97fsZ6CIAYzOMdh80ayx8lSdwSSWzI6JN00Pxag/viewform

And here’s the link with deets on topics, regions etc.: http://extraordinaryitalianwine.us/request-access/

And yes, there will be a test (for official certification)