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…
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,…
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…
Not everyone living in the Mediterranean is adhering to the Mediterranean Diet these days... To the point that some people even think the Mediterranean Diet is dead! Rubbish! Plenty of Italians are still eating healthy, vegetable-base meals with olive oil, accompanied by water and wine, maybe a little pasta, maybe a little fish, hardly any…
Continue reading ➞ The Mediterranean Diet is Alive and Well and Living in Puglia
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,…
Today I had the rare opportunity to taste 19 rare wines made from little known indigenous grapes. Since I decided to focus during this Vinitaly 2017 on lesser known Italian wines and wine regions, this was the perfect tasting for me! I have to admit, I had not heard of the grape varieties Minutolo or…
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…
Suzanne Branciforte's Italian Grapevine 