I love visiting the Bottega stand at Vinitaly - it's so glamorous! Besides, Prosecco makes me happy. This year was special: Bottega was celebrating 40 years of distilling and winemaking. Founded in 1977 near Treviso in the Veneto region, the company has continued to expand. Leaders in brand recognition, who doesn't know these shiny bottles…
On Holy Thursday and Good Friday in Italy, it is tradition to visit the Holy Sepulchre of Jesus, but not just one... many! Usually, the magic number is seven - but as any old Italian lady will tell you, as long as it's an odd number, you're OK. (Yes, there's a veneer of pagan superstition…
Continue reading ➞ It’s Good Friday: Do You Know Where Your Sepulchres Are?
There are many words to describe Italian wine. Much ink has been spilled, and some vino too, trying to find the right ones to communicate the complex and fascinating sensations associated with wine. But if there is one word that is highly overused to describe wine and winemaking in Italy, that word is passion. I…
Each year at Vinitaly, there are three important tastings sponsored by two famous food&wine journalists, Paolo Massobrio and Marco Gatti, of Il Golosario fame. The tastings are called Young to Young because they feature three young winemakers each day who present one of their wines to bloggers. I have had the privilege to participate over…
Today I had the rare opportunity to taste 19 rare wines made from little known indigenous grapes. Since I decided to focus during this Vinitaly 2017 on lesser known Italian wines and wine regions, this was the perfect tasting for me! I have to admit, I had not heard of the grape varieties Minutolo or…
Since Vinitaly kicks off each year with the Wine Spectator-sponsored event, Opera Wine, I thought it would be appropriate to choose an operatic soundtrack for this post. Crank up the volume, because the chorus we're talking about is Verdi's famed Va, pensiero!, a quiet storm. Many voices, and glasses, raised together and together make a…
Suzanne Branciforte's Italian Grapevine 