Milano Wine Week recently gave me the excuse to flit through Via Montenapoleone dressed to the nines and sip vintages while taking in the view of fancy pants fashion-conscious wine lovers. From the Duomo (left) to Via Montenapoleone, it's all a catwalk! A lot was going on during this Wine Week, from workshops to master…
One of Italy’s big B wines (Brunello, Barolo, Barbaresco, maybe even Bolgheri) that command universal respect, Brunello di Montalcino is perhaps the most exquisite expression of that versatile grape Sangiovese. Of course in this area of Tuscany, the grape itself is called Brunello, whereas in nearby Montepulciano, it goes by the name of Prugnolo Gentile!…
Over the past few weeks, I've been sipping and tasting with the lovely Italian Women of Wine in Liguria. Le Donne del Vino in Italy numbers over 800 members, with winemakers, restaurateurs, sommeliers, journalists, wine shop owners, etc. Two restaurants hosted special events to feature the wines of Emilia-Romagna paired with Ligurian cuisine. Get out…
Celebrations are always enhanced by wine, don't you think? And nobody does it better than the Donne del Vino, or Women of Wine, the Italian association of women winemakers, enologists, sommeliers, wine shop owners, food&wine journalists. This summer I attended two events sponsored by Italian women wine makers, and let me tell you, they know…
Varvaglione 1921, Puglia's fastest growing winery, knows that it's a question of taste, and amply demonstrated it at their event A Question of Taste held at Borgo Egnazia April 20-22, 2018. The best of Puglia was on display, accompanied by a gamma of their wines, featuring for the most part native grape varieties. From Primitivo…
True confessions: how much do you know about wine from Puglia? Not much? Well, it's time you learned! Puglia is Italy's hot, up-and-coming wine region, so you'd better be prepared. This is the heel of the boot. When talking terroir, a map is a good place to start! Local varieties have fun and evocative names…
Continue reading ➞ There’s Nothing Primitive about this Primitivo!
Molise: The Sound of Wine. Love that. Not sure I know what it means. But it doesn't matter. What sound does wine make? Lots of different sounds, depends on where you are, at what point the wine is (pouring? drinking? slurping the last delicious drop?), and who you're with. As the following photos will attest,…
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…
You didn't know there was a vendemmia in Milan, did you? Let me tell you, this is one hell of a harvest festival in a city that rarely sleeps! It is such a hard life writing about Italian food, wine and culture... Last night I made my way through the throngs of people enjoying the…
Suzanne Branciforte's Italian Grapevine 