This month we are celebrating a Chianti extravaganza. Having toured this area of Tuscany many times before I was excited to write about the area and one of my favorite Italian grapes, sangiovese. One of my fellow Italian wine lovers, Katarina of Grapevine Adventures, introduced me to Matteo and Nicola Cantoni of Fattoria Fibbiano, the sons of found...
This month we are our covering the region of Emilia Romagna centrally located in northern Italy. This region is full of gastronomic pleasures especially known for prosciutto di parma, parmigiano reggiano and the authentic balsamic vinegar of Modena. I traveled there for my honeymoon some years back and there was plenty to indulge in.
I love the alpine regions of Italy. I've been lucky to visit a few of them and the scenery is stunning with the background of the dramatic mountain ranges including the Dolomites, Monte Bianco, the Appenines and more. Back in early 2015 I visited the Trentino-Alto Adige region for the first time and journeyed from Verona via train to the town of Tr...
Of course we'd all love to be sitting in a piazza, watching the locals take their evening passagiata while sipping many of Italy's fine wines, but for those of us that can only dream of it right now can still be left with some suggestions to pick up a bottle, close one's eyes and only dream.
I've written about a number of different sweeter style wines. I am one that has a sweet tooth and enjoys a nice dessert wine. I'm veering off from the typical moscato d'asti and brachetto d'acqui in the north and taking you an island off the coast of Sicily for some passito di Pantelleria.
The most widely known sparkling wine of Italy is prosecco, but there are many others that are worth recognizing, especially those of Franciacorta in Lombardy and those of Trento in the region of Trentino. Then you have those sparkling wines that are on the sweeter side like moscato d'asti and brachetto d'acqui. I've written about many of these in t...
I had the opportunity to meet owner and winemaker, Anna Muzzolini, of the Azienda Agricola Grillo winery of Friuli at a local wine shop. I was excited about the opportunity because Friuli is a region that isn’t talked about as much as some of the others nor visited as a top tourist destination adding to it's uniqueness. If you’re not familiar with...
The town of Montepulciano is located within the region of Tuscany, about 70 miles southwest of Florence. Bring your walking shoes because it's a steep uphill climb to the top on via di gracciano, but take your time as it's lined with plenty of shops and cafes to stop and take a break at. My favorite are the quiet, picturesque alleys that break off...
It’s an exciting month for us as we explore nebbiolo throughout all regions of Italy. The name nebbiolo is derived from the Piemontese word for nebbia, meaning fog. It derives from the fog that comes down from the mountains and roles over the Po Valley helping with the ripening of these grapes.
This month we explore coastal regions in Italy. Much of Italy's regions are bordering water so it's easy to find a region to talk about today. That's what makes Italy so unique in that you can travel to many a region, north to south, and be able to experience mountains, beaches and seas and the inland plains. According to wikipedia, Italy has over...
Pinot grigio has not always been a go-to when it comes to white wines for me, but if I am going to drink one I always turn to northeastern Italy, in particular the Alto Adige wine region. Pinot grigio unfortunately has been tarnished from the days of when high quantity, low quality pinot grigio were being produced. It still happens today, but there...
Vigne Surrau is a winery situated in the northern part of the island of Sardinia. This is definitely one of the few regions of Italy I have yet to visit, but is definitely top of my list, maybe even my next trip to Italy. Vigne Surrau, named after the valley within Sardinia of where they are located, was founded in 2000. They are located close to t...