Lucca’s Duomo is very nice.The facede is decorated whith many different columns.They say that when they build it they asked all local maestros to make a column to choose who is going to take the job.When everybody brought his column they kept them they used them and they did pay nothing.There is a small entrance […]
via Lucca’s Duomo (Cattedrale di San Martino) — Riccardo Franchini
Long exposure shot from Rodello looking toward Alba and Diano d’Alba at night. The fog comes in thick, voluminous, and creeps like a silent ghost toward the valley below the Langhe hills. Piemonte is great during the day, but at night it has a quiet, romantic magic going on.
You can see why the region is known for “nebbiolo”, from the word for fog.
Man, I hope Signor Scicolone comes to do a tasting in the Colorado market soon!
Frankly I read a lot of wine blogs and wine interest stuff on the web, and pretty predictably you’ll see a lot of “well, I don’t really like Italian whites, just the reds…maybe that one Soave or that one Pinot is OK” type commentary.
At best, those sentiments are innocently misinformed folks who haven’t branched out much past the jugwines offered up at the local wine store. More likely it represents a form of laziness–there just isn’t really a good excuse any more to be a wine writer who’s missing out on the amazing whites coming from Italy. There just isn’t. Put down that bottle of $8 Pinot Grigio, and slowwwwwly back away folks. Get out there and taste! You’re missing out.
The Wine Media Guild asked me to host a program about the wines of Sicily. Together with Tom Maresca, another member, we lined up 30 wines for the tasting and lunch. The speakers would be Alessandro Dellascenza of Cru Artisan Wines, a division of Banfi, who would present 7 wines. Somehow, I became the second speaker and was more than happy to do so.
I am often asked where a wine can be bought at retail so in this post I have included the name of the importer/distributer of each wine.
At the tasting and lunch, which took place in April at Felidia Restaurant, we had 9 excellent whites ranging in price from $12 to $41.
The White Wines of Sicily
Grillo “Zirito” 2014 Grillo Terre Siciliane IGT 100% Grillo Feudo SartannaCru Artisian Wines-Banfi $12 The vineyards are in Western Sicily; the soil is volcanic of medium texture, chalk and clay…
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The lights and the shimmering water make this one of my favorite Venice images I’ve taken recently. It was late at night, the city was asleep except for the odd vaporetto idling by (the stern marker light from one is visible in the lower left). Quiet, stoic, enveloping.
No better place to be on a crisp fall evening. Be sure to click to see it full size!
We’ve been arguing in favor of something like this for some time, and when Doug pointed me to this article, it was somewhat encouraging–but unfortunately the forces working against the lagoon’s best interests are well monied and have Mayor Brugnaro’s backing.
Another great tasting from Signor Scicolone. Trebbiano deserves so much more recognition than it gets in the US.
Rosanna di Michele cooking teacher, personal chef, and lover all things from Abruzzo invited me to a tasting of the wines of Collefrisio. Rosanna has long collaborated with this Abruzzese winery and is a promoter of the wines and food of the region.
The tasting was held at Enoteca Di Palo in NYC’s Little Italy. This is the wine store of the famous Di Palo food store, which is right next door.
Amedeo, Rosanna, Lou Di Palo
Amedeo de Luca one of the owners of Collefrisio was there to present the wines. He said that his family has been involved in wine for 3 generations. The winery is located in the hills of Frisa in the Chieti province of Abruzzo. The winery has 35 hectare of vineyards on 3 estates: Tenuta Valle del Moro – 12 hectares where they grow Montepulciano and Trebbiano; Tenuta Morrecine – 12 hectares where they…
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Territoriet does a good job of gathering wine people, and this time was no different. Veslemøy, part of the Moestue group, had organized for Chiara and Claudia to come and show their wines. The theme for the night was “Femmes Fatales”, which is fitting as these women are strong characters in Piemonte. Chiara Boschis is […]
A much overlooked wine region that frankly makes the best white wine in the world is finally getting some notice in the wine press. You really don’t read much about Lugana online or in print, and it’s a shame–though a small region and one overshadowed by its larger, high volume producing cousins in Soave and the Friulan hills, Lugana makes full flavored, rich, chewy whites that mesh perfectly with the seafood dishes you’ll find in the Veneto.
We loved our recent visit with the folks at Le Morette, and look forward to going back and tasting their latest work soon.
Sassi Italy Tours 