Italian wine is going to conquer the Midwest. In the heart of the United States, which remains the leading market for Italian whites, reds and sparkling wines (worth 1.8 billion euros), one out of every two imported bottles comes from Vigneto Italia. It is not a golden moment for the sector, which is precisely why the search for markets to develop has begun. Vinitaly in October landed for the first time in Chicago, one of the capitals of the Midwest. The occasion was International Wine Expo, the first trade show organized overseas by Veronafiere. It was the debut of a broader plan, Vinitaly USA 2024, which includes an agreement for an increasingly demanding presence in the United States. The region that includes Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas is home to 70 million people who welcomed 200 million dollars worth of Italian wine to their tables last year. It was Maurizio Muzzetta, a Sicilian-born information technology entrepreneur with roots in Chicago, who pioneered events related to good Italian wine 15 years ago with his company, Italian Expo, which also organizes Fashion Week in Dallas and a number of festivals on made-in-Italy products. Since this year he has become a partner of Veronafiere-Vinitaly. At the International Wine Expo at the end of October, 207 Italian wineries arrived, with 1,000 labels for tasting.