The Official Wine of Pizza Sponsors U.S. Pizza Team
Bolla Slices Into $30 Billion Industry
LOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bolla Wines, one of the most established Italian wine brands in the U.S. and the Official Wine of Pizza, will celebrate 125 years of fine Italian winemaking with a year-long focus on pizza and wine. The anniversary line-up will include a multi-city Pizza and Wine tour and a sponsorship of the U.S. Pizza Team.
“The association between Bolla wines and pizza is a natural fit not only because of Italy but also for the usual occasion in which they are consumed — at home with friends in a casual environment,” said Donald Freytag, global brand director for Bolla. “We’re excited to kick off a celebration of 125 years by celebrating with pizza. Bolla really grew up in America side by side with pizza.”
When The Troops Came Marching Home, They Brought A Taste For Pizza (And Bolla)
While pizza and Bolla both have their roots in Italy, neither would become mainstream in the U.S. until GI’s returned home from WWII, bringing with them a taste for Italian wine and pizza. It wasn’t long before cases of Bolla wine began shipping to the U.S. and pizzerias started springing up across America. Like American’s love affair with pizza, Bolla’s popularity continued to grow and by 1969 Bolla became the number one imported wine in the U.S. market.
To celebrate this long, storied connection, Bolla will launch a year-long Pizza and Wine tour at various Italian fests across the country. Brand representatives will be on hand to show consumers how to pair various styles of pizza with Bolla’s Italian wines. Bolla will also expand on its relationship as a sponsor of the U.S. pizza team, who will perform their award-winning aerobatic feats with pizza dough at each tour stop. For a preview of the team in action, visit Bolla.com.
“Pizza is a $30 billion industry in the United States, if we can create a strong association between Bolla and pizza in consumers minds we’re off to a great year,” Freytag said.
Bolla Launches Taste Of Your Town Pizza Recipe Contest
In conjunction with the Pizza and Wine tour stops, Bolla is launching a year-long online pizza contest entitled Taste of Your Town. Consumers will be challenged to submit pizza recipes which use local ingredients as well as a corresponding wine pairing at www.bolla.com/taste. Recipes will be judged on creativity, taste and the success of the wine pairing. The winner and a guest will win a trip to Italy to visit Bolla’s homeplace in Verona and attend the 2009 World Pizza Championships in Europe.
“We source the best grapes in each region to make our wine. We want consumers to do the same with their pizza ingredients. We’re hoping to get some tasty but outrageous recipes and new wine pairings that even we haven’t dreamed up yet,” said Freytag.
Bolla’s roots lay in the hillside of the acclaimed Veneto region in Northern Italy where Abele Bolla started handcrafting his wines at his small winery in 1883. The brand was introduced to the U.S. in 1947 when 200 cases of 1943 Bardolino wines shipped to New York. Today, Bolla’s winemakers harvest grapes from five regions in Italy: Veneto, Lombardia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Tuscany and Romagna.
Bolla is a part of Brown-Forman Corporation, a diversified producer and marketer of fine quality beverage alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, Tequila Herradura, el Jimador Tequila, Canadian Mist, Sonoma-Cutrer, Fetzer and Bolla wines, and Korbel California Champagnes.
