Calabria is off the beaten path, which may be why I don’t know it as well as I should. But the wines have long intrigued me… so that and the sirens’ call of the Ionian Sea made me venture there late this spring. Is it any wonder that Ulysses was lured here? After all, Scylla…
On a recent trip to taste Aglianico del Vulture, I discovered the birthplace of Horace, that fun-loving Latin poet who coined the phrase Carpe diem! Or Seize the day! My suggestion: take his advice and hurry up and visit the region of Basilicata. The lovely piazza dedicated to the monumental poet, Horace, in his birthplace,…
Maybe it is the bubbly, colorful logo of this year's Opera Wine, but Vinitaly 2019 started with a bang! The cold and rather gray weather did not put a damper on the kick-off: Wine Spectator celebrated its choice of Italy's 100 Finest Wines and Producers, so yours truly was on location to sample vintages, meet…
Lucky for me, when I travel for wine, I also get to try an awful lot of good food. Puglia is one of those regions where authentic regional cuisine is flourishing. And as if that were not enough, going back to basics, using all natural ingredients or recipes the way grandma made them, is all…
Adhering to the 'Just say Yes to life' philosophy, I recently accepted an invitation to visit Rinaldini Vini, near Reggio Emilia. A lovely spring day awaited me, and the sunshine and the warm welcome reminded me that this region is known for its hospitality. And great food - but I'll get to that part in…
As a lover of good wine, I am – quite obviously – also a lover of great food. So in my meanderings around Italy, this year I decided to start making a point of visiting Michelin starred restaurants, especially those of young, up-and-coming chefs. The ones with the stars in their eyes. First stop: Umami,…
Sicily is a feast for the senses… Stimulation abounds, as you are surrounded by beauty, both natural and man-made. On a recent visit to Scicli – which is pronounced chic + ly – I got to know a little corner of the Mediterranean’s biggest island that had inexplicably avoided my probing eye. This end-of-summer moment…
This Halloween, I’m reflecting on the moon and its incredible influence on us, and on agriculture. In 2018, we’ve even experienced some supermoons. Our grandfathers knew how to plant according to the moon’s cycles, and maybe we should be paying closer attention to what it’s doing to us, too. For years, I would pass through…
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…
For years, I have wanted to visit that magnificent monument that is Puglia's Castel del Monte, and this summer I finally got there. Of course, no visit to Puglia is complete without a visit to a winery as well, and this day was no different. So what’s the connection you say? Did you know that…
Suzanne Branciforte's Italian Grapevine 