A mayor who eats pizza with a knife and fork must have a weakness for a good bottle of Barolo.
That, at least, was the thinking at Vinitaly, a Verona, Italy-based group that promotes Italian vino worldwide.
For the past month and a half, Vinitaly has worked doggedly to snag Bill de Blasio to kick off its annual trade show at the Metropolitan Pavilion this week.
“Please be assured of my highest consideration,” Vinitaly CEO Giovanni Montovani wrote in a Jan. 9 letter to the mayor.
Yet de Blasio’s people thus far have been silent, Vinitaly officials lament.
Getting de Blasio to show up would be a coup. The mayor has become a celebrity in Italy, and has been vocal about his affection for his grandfather Giovanni’s homeland.
Last week, Vinitaly reps knocked on the doors at City Hall, bearing a friendship plaque. A staffer came out to receive it and “may or may not have dumped the plaque into the East River,” according to Vinitaly publicist Megan McGowan.
“We’re going to send him some of the wines we’re drinking at the event,” McGowan told The Post.