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PLCB Partner Danny DeVito, Italian Wines are the Toast of the Philadelphia Flower Show

Posted on: Tuesday, 10 March 2009, 11:23 CDT

Hundreds attend bottle signing, shop for and taste wine

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Actor Danny DeVito met with delighted fans, gardening enthusiasts and limoncello consumers on Saturday March 7, as part of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's first partnership with the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

DeVito, star of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," was scheduled to sign bottles of his premium limoncello - the classic Italian after-dinner drink - for just two hours, but stayed nearly five hours and signed more than 900 bottles sold that day at the PLCB's on-site Wine & Spirits Store.

"We could not have had a better week at the 2009 Philadelphia Flower Show," said Patrick J. "P.J." Stapleton III, chairman of the Liquor Control Board. "Judging by the popularity of our event with Mr. DeVito, the sales in our on-site Wine & Spirits store, and the crowds who enjoyed complimentary wine and limoncello tastings throughout the week, the Flower Show was a fantastic venue for the PLCB's marketing efforts."

DeVito's popular limoncello was a sellout at the on-site Wine & Spirits store, with a total of 1,823 bottles - more than 150 cases - sold during the week. The lemon-flavored liqueur is now available at Wine & Spirits Stores around the state.

In keeping with the Flower Show's "Bella Italia" theme, the PLCB's on-site store sold only Italian wines during the March 1-8 event. The agency's vendor partners poured many of these wines at complimentary tastings throughout the week.

More than 5,000 bottles of Italian wine, from amarone to valpolicella, were sold to Flower Show patrons.

The Philadelphia Flower Show, organized by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, is the nation's largest and oldest indoor flower show.

"The PLCB employees who worked so hard on this event were inspired by the professionalism and beautiful work of all the Flower Show participants," said Jim Short, the Liquor Control Board's director of marketing. "I'm gratified that patrons really seemed to appreciate and respond to our efforts to continue the show's Italian theme at our tastings, with our wine selection and even in the design of our on-site store."

The Liquor Control Board operates 620 Wine & Spirits Stores across Pennsylvania. It has created temporary, on-site stores for a number of events, including annual whiskey and wine festivals. The next Philadelphia Wine Festival will be Saturday, May 2, at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.

CONTACT: Nick Hays or Francesca Chapman (717) 783-8864

SOURCE Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board

Source: PR Newswire

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