A trade fair in Houston gives me hope for wine’s future in America.

It’s a scary time to be shipping Italian wine from Europe these days.

No one knows when or to what extent the U.S. government will impose tariffs on European goods, although most expect that the tax is inevitable.

With the new Russia-U.S. alignment, there are fears in Europe that war could spread to other former Soviet block countries. Supply chains (like glass from Ukraine for wine bottles) have already been severely impacted by the conflict and with the breakdown in Ukraine-U.S. relations, there is no clarity on when a cease-fire could begin.

But perhaps even more daunting for Italian winemakers is the fact that the U.S. government has made severe cuts to human resources at the FDA just when new organic labeling regulations have come into effect.

At our exhibitors panel on Sunday night as part of the Taste of Italy Houston trade fair, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce invited a top wine and food importer, a top Italian wine buyer, and a Michelin-starred chef to speak to wine and food producers presenting their products. It’s one of the events I am most proud to be a part of: each year, our panelists offer genuinely useful information and guidance for companies who export their goods to the U.S.

But the moment that filled me with hope was when Tom Dobson, Italian wine buyer for Spec’s, one of the largest wine retailers in the world, said that he believes wine sales are going to return to their pre-Covid levels. The pandemic caused wine sales to spike, he explained, but volume and value decreased significantly over the last two “post-Covid” years. With moderate confidence, he told our group that he believes we are on track to revive our industry. His outlook, he explained, is based on the mountains of data that he analyzes every day for his company.

His comments were echoed by Michelin-starred chef Felipe Riccio of Houston restaurant March. While his observations were more anecdotal in nature, he talked about how he and his team are seeing an upward trend in wine sales again. And his restaurant group continues is ambitious plans to expand.

Uncertainty is not good for wine sales but guarded, well-informed optimism is great for a beleaguered industry. I, for one, am hopeful.

Thanks to everyone who made the 11th annual Taste of Italy fair a success.