Italian Grapevine concluded Vinitaly 2022 with a bang: Our post, Girl Power Forever! by contributing editor Francesca Giuliano, won a prize for best communication of the day in the Young to Young tastings. Contributing editor Francesca Giuliano at VeronaFiere Vinitaly receiving her award This annual feature at Vinitaly, created in 2015 by Il Golosario’s Paolo…
Donne del Vino
Iconic Women of Italian Wine
Two of the powerhouses of this year’s Vinitaly, Wine Spectator and Veronafiere-Vinitaly, have paired up on more than just Opera Wine this year. There is a whole calendar of tastings and master classes to complement the pavilions that feature, region by region, Italy’s vast array of vintages. Powerhouses of Italian wine (left to right: Marilisa…
People Who Need People
Back in the saddle, sipping again! Last Saturday I had the great good fortune to attend Wine Spectator’s pull-out-the-stops event, Opera Wine 2021 live and in person in Verona. This was one of the first live tasting events since the pandemic, and it brought together – as is tradition – producers, buyers, journalists from around…
Red, Red Wine
While the holiday season was quieter this year than in recent memory, it has taken a while to post this Highlights of 2020 Red Wines, a companion piece to the December post that talked about whites. If you read to the end here, you’ll know why. Red, red wine, Stay close to me... The Top…
May Your Days Be Merry and Bright…
And may all your Christmases ... and wines... be white! Italian Grapevine is going to dedicate two posts to a review of the year’s highlights – the best of the reds and the whites we’ve sampled this year. Granted, it was a tough year: practically no wine fairs, no travel, no restaurants. For heaven’s sake,…
Tuscan Quintet Part V: Tenuta Il Corno
Welcome to Tenuta Il Corno Tenuta Il Corno sits on a ridge in the Tuscan countryside just outside San Casciano Val di Pesa. The first time I visited the estate was on a dark and rainy January late afternoon. Struck by its austere and impressive façade, with a medieval bell tower to boot, the place…
Tuscan Quintet Part IV: Az. Agr. Tamburini
Beautiful at any time of year... Let me tell you a modern day fairy tale:Once upon a time, there was a dynamic dark-haired beauty. She made wine in Tuscany (I said this was a fairytale!) in a place called Il Castelluccio (which roughly translated means ‘the cute little castle’.) Emanuela Tamburini The beauty’s name is…
Continue reading ➞ Tuscan Quintet Part IV: Az. Agr. Tamburini
Girl, Interrupted
She's back!!!! Did you miss me as much as I've missed you? And as much as I've missed gallivanting about through the vineyards? Or tasting in the company of friends, fellow wine-lovers, producers, and not in front of a computer screen, peering into that black mirror trying to grasp some sense of soul? It's been…
Masterpieces of Taste
'Tis the season... to be running from wine exhibit to anteprima to wine fair. Whether you are a producer or a taster, February kicks off the new vintages and it's hard to keep up! A new addition to the Calendar is Wine and Siena: Masterpieces of Taste (the subtitle is new too!), a 4-year old…
Southern Hospitality: Women Winemakers in South Africa
Italian Grapevine likes to head to warmer climes when the frost falls in Italy... So here we are to report on two fabulous encounters with South African women winemakers whom we were lucky enough to visit. Don't you love how women and wine and travel all go together? I met Marinda Kruger-Claasen (left) of Elgin…
Continue reading ➞ Southern Hospitality: Women Winemakers in South Africa