Wine flowed and Italian accents spiced the air of St. Croix Government House courtyard as dignitaries from Montescudaio, Italy, and St. Croix’s elegant set celebrated sister-city agreements and future mutual friendship, trade and exchange between the ancient Tuscan village and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Loris Caprai, capo delegazione – or chief of the delegation – mingled with the crowd Friday evening as a goodwill ambassador, beaming, and answering questions with some translation help from Gloria Vaglia Peel, a St. Croix resident and a former professor of Italian.
"You have three magnificent islands, each with its own distinct nature," said Caprai, as translated by Peel. "St. Thomas, the most touristed and active island, perhaps for Italian tourists is a good fit. St. John is quieter, a nature paradise. And St. Croix is beautiful and surprising, with a mix of these attributes."
The relationship sprang from a series of discussions starting in March 2009, when Montescudaio’s mayor Aurelio Pellegrini extended the invitation to Sen. Wayne James through a mutual friend. In late November and early December, James visited Montescudaio where, as guest of Pellegrini, he was goodwill ambassador at a series of gatherings, from a tribute to the American soldiers who died during the liberation of Montescudaio on June 30, 1944, to winery tours to meetings with the village’s municipal council. James introduced a resolution to the Legislature to formalize the relationship and Pellegrini introduced a similar initiative to secure the relationship under Italian law. Both were approved, formalizing the relationship.
“I was treated royally when I visited the Italians in November,” James in a statement issued before Friday’s party. “So it is my honor to extend Virgin Islands hospitality to our Italian guests."
The Italian delegation has been visiting the territory since Jan. 24, shepherded from place to place by James, their visit culminating in Friday’s party before their departure Sunday.
Asked what Montescudaio would want to sell here, Caprai – through Peel – said his town produced wonderful wine, olive oil and traditional dried sausage, and that St. Croix’s rum might be imported to stock the bars and bistros back in Italy.
He brought wines from eight of the towns’ 14 named vineyards for a special tasting.
"This is the first mission to the U.S. for these wines," he said himself, in English. The wines, all designated "denominazione di origine controllata" by the Italian government, have never been imported to the U.S. before, he explained through Peel. The DOC designation indicates the government certifies the wines have a distinct regional character and were produced according to strict, regulated procedures from approved grape varietals. It is similar to the "appelation d’origine controlee" designation used to specify the better, named wine producing locales in France.
At about 7:30 p.m., with the party still rolling below in the courtyard, some of St. Croix’s wine distributors and a select group of invitees, sat down on the patio of the Government House ballroom for a directed tasting of the wines. Caprai told a bit about each, its grapes and its history, pouring the guests’ glasses himself. Most, such as a 2001 Rosso Dele Minieu, were reds in the "Super Tuscan" style, composed of sangiovese blended with cabernet sauvignon and merlot, but he brought one locally prized sweet dessert wine; Vin Santo, a blend of trebbianno and vermentino grapes.
"This is good for trade, good for both of our economies," James said Friday evening. Along with potential wine sales, several Italian food-industry manufacturers are exploring the possibility of establishing operations in the territory because of business-friendly tax benefits and strategic location, according to James.
"But it is not just about trade," James said. "There are opportunities for us to benefit from cultural exchanges and student exchanges. Imagine some of our young students visiting and touring their museums."
When promoting the agreement last fall, James also pointed to potential growth in tourism.
“Presently, about 3,000 Italians visit the Virgin Islands each year, staying, on average, two weeks per visit," James said in November. "And of all the tourists who visit our shores, the Italians spend more money per-person than tourists from any other country – eating in our best restaurants and staying in our four- and five-star hotels. Every bottle of Virgin Islands rum in an Italian bar or in someone’s liquor cabinet is advertising for us.”
Montescudaio has two other sister-city partners: Castril de la Pena, Spain (since 2006); and Eberstadt, Germany (since 1984).
Montescudaio, with its population of just fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, is situated in Italy’s Tuscan region, about 45 kilometers southeast of Pisa. Founded in the late 1100s, the town’s name derives from the Latin “Mons Scutarum,” or “mountain of shields.” The 
fortified town rose to prominence early in its history because of its strategic position, which affords commanding views of the islands in the Tuscan Archipelago, as far as the mountains of Corsica. But it is Montescudaio’s red wine, which has been produced for centuries, that is the basis of the town’s 21st-century fame. As early as 1887, the town’s wine won a silver medal at a national enological competition in Rome.
After the tasting, the party began to wind down, with elegantly dressed couples slowly exiting one by one into the Christiansted night and the din of the crows gradually quieting.
