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Continue reading →: All That Jazz!Warning: this is a post with a soundtrack, so crank up the volume! Altro che 3 Tenorini! as we would say. Italians love the number 3: remember Dante? So once upon a time, there were the 3 tenors (Pavarotti, Domingo, Carreras). Then came the 3 Tenorini (actually one is a…
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Continue reading →: When Life Gives You Lemons…. Make Limoncello!As often happens in late winter/early spring, friends showered me with their ‘untreated’ lemons, meaning these were the real McCoy: pure, unadulterated lemons. So I get a ‘gift’ of 6 lemons here, 8 lemons there …. What to do with a fridge full of lemons? Limoncello! I peel the…
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Continue reading →: I, Sommelier
It’s official: Today I became a sommelier. The crowning glory of over 2 years of study with the AIS – Associazione Italiana Sommelier. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t supposed to be. Memorizing grape varieties, vintages and wine-growing regions across the globe… Bad enough, Italy has 73 DOCG and over 330 DOC…
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Continue reading →: Class is Not WaterOr so they say in Italian (La classe non è acqua!) Maybe it’s Brunello, or Amarone, or Chianti, or Prosecco, or Furore. See what I mean? That phrase could have been the caption for Wednesday night’s super gala dinner for Le Donne del Vino (the Women of Wine Association). The event…
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Continue reading →: Forever Young!The last day of Vinitaly (Wednesday, March 25) was filled with excitement. As you may remember, the day before, we participated in the Young to Young tasting. A late evening phone call informed us that Italiangrapevine.com was chosen for best communication of that event. Hip, hip, hooray! And the winners…
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Continue reading →: Those Boots were Made for Walking!And that’s just what they’ll do. You know you are in Italy when you see fabulously dressed and hoofed women in vertigo-inducing high heels, with smiles on their faces after ten hours of balancing on stilettos. How many Americans (or Brits, or Germans, or you-name-it-nationalities) would hoof around…
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Continue reading →: Super Tuscans!They never cease to amaze, these Super Tuscans. I met two in my hotel here at Vinitaly. They need no introduction: Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri, Italy. Ring a bell? Sassicaia – the Super Tuscan by definition. These people not only make Sassicaia (they invented it, for Pete’s sake!), but they…
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Continue reading →: Young to Young Reaches OutI made my way to the 1st floor of Pavillion 10 this morning to participate in a tasting. Rising above the often very crowded floors of the Vinitaly fair, one gets a different perspective on the business of wine. Serious business, this tasting of wine. This morning at 11:00, we…
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Continue reading →: Lest You Think This is All Fun and Games…You should know that Vinitaly is a major conference for all those interested in wine. Parallel to the exhibits and stands, and myriad tastings, there are important meetings and conferences with major speakers from around the globe. There are 4000 companies here from 24 countries, and over 90,000 square meters…
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Continue reading →: Bottega… A Boutique Bottle!Bottega Gold… Does that ring a bell? It should. They were celebrating 15 years yesterday at Vinitaly. Stunning packaging to match the bottle contents – award-winning Prosecco DOC Spumante! Anna Pesenti is a mover and shaker and one of the Donne del Vino (Women of Wine). She loves shiny things,…
Suzanne Branciforte
has one foot firmly planted on either continent
is New York born and Harvard educated
is Italian and American and Italian-American
has resided on the Italian Riviera for the past 15 years
has a Masters degree and a Ph.D. from UCLA
is a writer, translator and interpreter
interpreted for the President of the Bundesbank and Nobel Prize winning economists and authors
is the author of the international best-selling textbook Parliamo italiano!
has lived extensively in California, France and Italy
knows that good wine doesn’t grow in ugly places
is convinced that living is your greatest work of art
Suzanne Branciforte's Italian Grapevine 