The third edition of the Gambero Rosso Top Italian Wines Roadshow concluded at Shamba Café in Nairobi, reaffirming Kenya’s growing importance as a strategic market for Italian wine, food culture, and broader trade relations.
Featuring 160 award-winning wines from 44 producers across 11 famed wine-growing regions, the roadshow brought together leading importers, distributors, hospitality decision-makers, and wine professionals. The trade-focused experience went beyond tasting to addressing portfolio development, provenance, and long-term market positioning and related business opportunities for the Hotels, Restaurants and Catering sector in East Africa.
This year’s event comes at a pivotal time for bilateral trade between Kenya and Italy. In 2023, Italian wine imports to Kenya reached USD 2.67 million, and exports rose by a further 12% in 2024. Italy currently accounts for 11% of the total value of wine imports to Kenya, making it the third-largest supplier, trailing only South Africa and France.
Speaking at the event, H.E. Vincenzo Del Monaco, Italian Ambassador to Kenya, emphasized that Italian wine represents far more than a commercial export.
“Wine is a gateway to deeper engagement and a medium for intercultural exchanges and strengthening bonds. It embodies culture, territory, and national identity. This showcase highlights the quality and diversity of Italian wines while reinforcing the strong economic and diplomatic ties between Italy and Kenya, a priority partner for Italy across business, science, culture, and investment,” he said.
Italy exports approximately 400 million Euros worth of goods to Kenya annually, underscoring the depth of the broader economic relationship between the two countries.
According to Victoria Mulu-Munywoki, Wine Consultant, Radio Co-Host, and Wine & Spirits Judge, the roadshow’s third consecutive return reflects the strong confidence in the Kenyan market by Italian producers.
CBK tender for supply of assorted wines and spirits now talk of town
“This event has grown alongside Kenya’s wine scene, with recorded growth of 33% in 2024 and 44% in 2025 of Italian Wine imports, driven primarily by a more informed and curious consumer base shaped by travel and cultural exposure. Part of that is due to the success of the three editions of Gambero Rosso Top Italian Wine Roadshow”, she noted.
She added that the Nairobi edition now stands alongside similar showcases in major cities around the world, further elevating and affirming Kenya’s readiness to engage at the highest levels of international wine business and trade.
At the event, Italian wine diversity took centrestage through tastings and masterclasses led by Marco Sabellico, Editor and Food & Wine Expert at Gambero Rosso’s Guida Vini d’Italia. Sabellico highlighted Italy’s rich heritage of hundreds of classic grape varieties and its deep-rooted gastronomic culture.
According to the event organizers VinPodium, in partnership with Victoria Mulu-Munywoki, Nairobi is fast evolving from an introductory wine market into a regional influencer, emerging as a key hub for East and Central Africa.
“We are seeing a steady expansion of Italian wine varieties beyond restaurants and lounges and into the retail and grocery spaces, blending the huge Italian wine heritage with local cuisine and Kenyan consumption patterns”, said VinPodium Co-Founder, Mark Artivor.
For the third time, the roadshow also recognized outstanding culinary establishments serving Italian cuisine and wine across Nairobi and the Coastal region, including Solo Grano, La Terrazza, Lucca at Kempinski, Roberto’s Mombasa, Sunset Watamu, and Visiwa, among others.
Notably, The Wine Box was named Best Wine Shop in Kenya, with additional recognition given to Enoteca, Liv Vin, and Wine & More Kenya, Diani. A newly introduced retail category also honoured Roberto’s Urban Market for excellence in Italian food retail.
Now a must-attend event for the local Hotels, Restaurants and Catering (HoReCa) sector, the Gambero Rosso Top Italian Wines Roadshow, continues to build on its inaugural success, bridging Italian producers with East Africa’s professional wine trade while reinforcing Kenya’s position as a strategic gateway for Italian exports in the region.
