Local Bay Area Italian Food Importer Wins 2013 sofi™ Gold Award Top Honor in Specialty Food at New York Fancy Food Show South San Francisco, CA (July 3, 2013) – Italian Harvest, a small local family business that imports a wide array of artisan foods from Italy, has won the 2013 sofi™ Gold Award for Vinegar from the Specialty Food Association. A sofi is the top honor in the $86 billion specialty food industry. "sofi" stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation.Italian Harvest's "Sopraffino" Acetaia Ducale Aged Wine Vinegar took home the gold in the vinegar category; one of 125 Finalists selected by a national panel of specialty food professionals from a record-setting 2,573 entries across 32 Awards categories. Winners were announced July 1, 2013, by internationally acclaimed Chef Marcus Samuelsson at a red-carpet ceremony at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York.Not since 2005 has one company had 4 silver finalists in the running for the gold, which has occurred only three other times in sofi Award history. In addition to their award-winning vinegar, nominated as Silver Finalists from Italian Harvest's collection were Pastificio Marella (nominated for the entire product line), Bomba di Calabria Hot Pepper Paste (in the category of cooking sauce/flavor enhancer) and Dinamite Spicy Tapenade (condiment category).The team at Italian Harvest, led by owners Italian-born John Blount and Victoria Doggett, say they "couldn't be happier to be recognized for these wonderful products made by artisans truly dedicated to their craft."Italian Harvest products are available online at www.italianharvest.com and at local retailors throughout the Bay Area, California and the US. For more information on where to buy call 1-866-408-4457 or visit their website. The sofi Awards are open to members of the Specialty Food Association, a not-for-profit trade association established in 1952 for food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs with more than 3,000 members in the U.S. and abroad."With the most entries ever, the winners should be especially proud," says Specialty Food Association President Ann Daw. "Their foods and beverages are wonderful examples of the craft, care and joy specialty food makers bring to their work," - WE WON SOFI GOLD! GOES WELL WITH...
