1970, they found that only a few of the Italian wines they were enjoying made it to merchants abroad.

Today, Mr. Empson, president and owner of Milan-based wine negociants Empson & Co., is considered a founding force in bringing quality wines out of Italy for the rest of the world to enjoy.

"I think Italians were ready to listen to someone who wanted to promote their wines and I believed I could identify quality. I was there at the right time and they trusted me,'' he said.

It was Mr. Empson's desire to travel during his youth which brought him to Italy and today he spends about 40 percent of his time travelling.

His wife oversees marketing, packaging and promotions for the company, which has affiliations with about 60 Italian wine estates and ships 200 different wines to various locations world-wide.

The US subsidiary, Empson USA Inc., located in Virginia, imports and monitors the work of 54 American distributors.

Bermuda is a destination for several of the wines shipped by Empson & Co.

Cosmopolitan Liquors Ltd., the exclusive representative of Empson & Co. in Bermuda, brings 57 brands to the Island through their association with the company.

Cosmopolitan has been associated with Empson & Co. for about two years.

Bermuda, meanwhile, is the largest market for Cignale, a joint venture between Empson & Co. and an Italian grower, said Mr. Michael Robinson, president of Cosmopolitan Liquors Ltd.

Of the 500 cases of Cignale produced from only seven acres of land, Bermuda residents acquire about 20 percent, said Mr. Robinson.

"I think it is an honour that we have that distinction.'' Of the 200 wines Empson & Co. is the negociant for, 27 are on the wine list at the Little Venice restaurant, Mr. Robinson said.

Mr. Empson, who has been coming to Bermuda for 15 years, said there is a natural and obvious synergy between Italian food and Italian wine and that the country's culture has been experiencing a new "renaissance'' for the past five years.

"Many markets we visit, including Bermuda, are undergoing this renaissance, in food, fashion and wine,'' he said.

"We could write the perfect wine list today. I see an enormous interest in Italian wines. These wines are elegant enough to match the cuisine.'' On Thursday and Saturday, local oenophiles enjoyed two evenings at Little Venice, which featured various wines as well as Italian cuisine.

Empson wines on the list included Jermann Vintage Tunina 1992 Friuli, Conterno Fantino Barolo Sori Ginestra 1989 Piedmont, Fonterutoli "Ser Lapo'' 1990 Tuscany, Fonterutoli "Concerto'' 1988 Tuscany and Cignale 1989/1990 Tuscany.

After 25 years in Italy, Mr. Empson considers himself solidly linked to the Italian way of life.

But he showed himself a true New Zealander on Saturday when he said that he "was all Kiwi'' after learning that Team New Zealand had crushed the US in the first race of the America's Cup by taking a 1 to 0 lead in the best-of-nine event.

He is also quietly reserved about his success.

These days, he and his wife enjoy a comfortable life, but he said that it took some half a dozen years before Empson & Co. made any money and that the most recent recession has changed the habits of many.

Nonetheless, Empson & Co. shied away from big price hikes when economies were booming in the 1980s, and it continues to take an approach of universality when it comes to its wine pricing from country to country.

This year, consequently, promises to be the biggest shipping year ever for Empson & Co.

Mr. Empson estimates that the company will ship more than 400,000 cases of wine in 1995, up from 300,000 last year.

ITALIAN WINE FAN -- Mr. Neil Empson.