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Harvest Trail 2012 - First Stop - Piemonte
Looking forward to posting from the wine trail in Italy the next week or so. First destination – Piemonte. Not quite a death march, but a full itinerary. Excited to talk first-hand to vintners and...
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The Difference between a Secret and a Lie
The big lie has been for years that Italians ship different wines to America and save the best wines for themselves.The big secret is that the vino sfuso (house wine) you find in many trattorie in...
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Kinetic Graffiti and Sunburnt Sicilian Orange Wine in Milan
Near the Porta GenovaHow does one explain “orange” wine to friends outside the natural wine cabal? Last night, I had a free night in Milan and met up with a fellow I had been wanting to meet ever since...
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Marziano Abbona Sulfite-Free Langhe Rosso - "No Amphora, No Nomblot, Just the...
Marziano puts an un-sufured cork in itA wine I wasn’t expecting to try, as I started my lap around the Langhe, was the ZEROSOLFITI Langhe Rosso of Marziano Abbona. After a stellar lineup of Arneis,...
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“The Last of the ’90 Paje’ ~ The First of the Tartufi Bianchi” – Aldo Vacca
Ovello to Novello reduxOur first stop this Monday on the Langhe Harvest Trail was Barbaresco. Aldo Vacca, director of Produttori del Barbaresco, had just finished the harvest and the wines were...
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Tajarin and white truffles with @JuventusFC ~ this time with Barolo
How does the taste of fresh white truffles differ when having them with Barolo versus Barbaresco? In a rare confluence of coincidence, we had the opportunity to gauge the pros and cons, at a private...
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The Secret to Buying Real White Truffles from Alba
"Location, location, location" That's no potato, folks, that's over $1000 worth of genuine white truffle from AlbaWhite truffles are just coming into Alba stores this week. It has been a hot, dry year,...
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"James Suckling is dead"
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a hundred times in America. But in Italy, it’s very different story. One would think, from an American point of view that James Suckling committed career suicide...
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My Tuscan Family Reunion
Teresa (Scalora) Borgia and grandson Andrea Farru with picture of her parents in 1921It appeared to be just a coincidence. We were out picking olives, trying to stay away from the stinging calabrone,...
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A museum in Nizza Monferrato: the life and times of Arturo Bersano
Carrozza Siciliana ~ Emozioni TantriciOften when visiting wineries in Italy they will have a space set aside for a museum. This past trip we visited no less than three such museums. The most...
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What’s Old is New Again @LaScolcaWines
Giorgio Soldati is a very lucky man. Famous for a white wine in red wine country, dancing to the beat of his own drum, making memorable wine against the tide of fashion, and staying true to a vision...
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A Gathering of Tomatoes, Olives and Harvest Songs in a Little Corner of Tuscany
The sad and abandoned tomato patch was enduring the last few warm days of the year. Tomatoes were hanging on, with little hope, as the house had been closed for the season. Thanks to the olive harvest...
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Thanks for a Rockin' October!
MilanOctober was an especially busy time on the wine trail in Italy. Traffic was up 28% from October of 2011. Before the wine blog awards were announced I had been thinking about taking the blog posts...
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The Last Bottle
In 1980 I bought my first case of wine. It was a 1976 Johnson’s Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The sommelier at the Italian restaurant I worked at, Il Sorrento, thought it was a good wine and she...
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Premature Jubilation
When I left my home Monday morning it was dark and foggy. I decided to head to the airport a little earlier in case the flights were being juggled around. When I got to the airport the fog had lifted...
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Ab Urbe Ad Rura : A Byzantine Procession
Looks like I'm heading back to Italy this week. First stop is the city of Verona, where there is a little wine judging to be done for the Vinitaly wine competition. That will be followed by some time...
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There’s a place for 'us'
Life has these funny little connections. I’m sitting is a sorry little corner of the Frankfurt airport and tweet, “With #DavosDuVin & #EWBC done there's still #MeranoWineFestival. Me? I'm heading...
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Vinitaly International Wine Competition 2012 : Day 1
Just a quick post as we run out to day 2. This is the 20th year for Vinitaly Wine Competition and this marks the first year where they hold the judging at a time other than the fair. This makes sense,...
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First-Timer's Guide to finding the best bathrooms at Vinitaly
Over the years, Vinitaly has grown. When I first went there in 1984, there may have been 6 pavilions in use. Now there are 17. The crowds have swollen and the infrastructure has been tested at times....
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Making a small fortune in Montalcino *
Richard Parsons is a wildly successful fellow. He’s made a lot of money, and he has risen to the top of the Wall Street summit. Forbes reported in 2008 he made over $10,000,000. And in the last four...
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