On this Valentine’s Day, I would like to say ‘I love you’ to all the restaurateurs out there. These are the people who have prepared our special Valentine’s Day dinners over the years (and on all those other special occasions we’ve shared with friends and loved ones in restaurants). They are people who have cuddled…
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…
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,…
Yours truly with Diego Bosoni Good thing I live so close to the Winery of the Year 2020 in these no-travel Covid times! Lucky me, I got to visit Cantine Lvnae twice, in late summer and early fall. We are talking southern Liguria, getting close to the Tuscan border. Can I say what a pleasure…
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…
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
Once upon a time... there was Castello di Poppiano Organization and method: that is what I found at Castello Poppiano, headquarters of the Conte Guicciardini winery. And history, vast history. And a touch of romanticism. A perfect blend that seems to have found its way into each carefully crafted bottle that bears the family crest.…
Continue reading ➞ Tuscan Quintet: Part III Conte Guicciardini
The long and winding road... The hills are alive, and they’re calling my name. The hills of Tuscany that is, and in particular the area around San Casciano Val di Pesa. Tuscany is full of rolling hills, rivers, and thermal baths, which is why it is such a great wine-growing region, in particular for reds…
Screams Tuscany, doesn't it? My visit to the Travignoli winery took place on a day that was quintessential Tuscany: picture-perfect rolling green hills, white puffy clouds dotting an azure sky, neat rows of vines lending a sense of order to Nature, the occasional bright red geranium a splash of color. Yours truly on location It…
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…
Suzanne Branciforte's Italian Grapevine 