Much Ado About Something

Nestled into the hills of Chianti is a magical place called Vignamaggio. The name has nothing to do with the month of May (Maggio in Italian), but is rather a direct reference to its prominence as a vineyard (vigna) that is the best (maggiore). Lucky me that I got to visit it on a balmy…

Holy Cow, Holy Wine! Sagrantino

In Italian they say 'finire in bellezza' and that is exactly what we did, ending up the season of new release tastings in front of Benozzo Gozzoli's magnificent frescoes in Montefalco. Such beauty! It's taken me over a week to recover! Just adore St. Francis driving the demons out of Arezzo! Benozzo was busy, between…

A Tuscan Hotbed

Between Wine&Siena in January, and the Tuscan anteprima medley in February, things  really heat up here in Tuscany in the wintertime. I have tasted my heart out at Chianti Lovers, Chianti Classico Collection, skipping  Benvenuto Brunello (where it seems it was rather hard to get in this year) and the Vino Nobile anteprima in Montepulciano.…

50 Shades of Red… and Even Some Blue

The Tuscan anteprima week is by now an appointment not to be missed for Chianti lovers and wine lovers in general. The event for Chianti DOCG, held at Fortezza da Basso, this year saw more than 4000 people flock to sample what the over 100 producers present had to offer. Getting up early is a…