Food, Wine and Travel Blog

If you enjoy drinking Loire Valley Chenin Blanc, you’ll love Falanghina. Once described as ‘the wine of Emperors,’ it is a glorious white variety, capable of producing very fragrant and complex wine – that signature note of volcanic minerality is the gift of Campanian terroir. Unoaked examples are beautifully fresh and saline, although a touch […]

There are two sides to Piedmont. One is Barolo and Barbaresco’s fashionable and increasingly expensive wines. Produced in relatively small volumes, these superlative reds tend to come from delineated, family-owned plots that have been farmed for centuries. They yield Nebbiolo wines of dazzling perfume and finesse – every bit the equal to the Grand Crus […]

Italy is highly adept at creating regional brands with a global cachet. Do you want proof? There is scarcely a wine lover today who has not sipped a glass of Amarone, Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo, and Chianti. With a tradition of high-quality viticulture that dates back to the Romans, Italy is a giant among Europe’s […]

While the delicious specialty foods of Emilia Romagna are famous worldwide, the region’s wines tend to get overlooked. Yet the area known with good reason as Italy’s Food Valley produces some perfect wine pairings for its tasty dishes. One such wine is the bright and lively sparkling red Lambrusco. Served chilled and made in many […]

In Roman times, Italy’s most prized vinous treasures were produced in the hills of Campania, flanking the beautiful city of Naples. Bathed in endless sunshine, indigenous grape varieties thrived in the region’s Mediterranean climate, producing red – and white – wines of impressive concentration and depth. At this point, no one cared about Tuscany or […]

When critics are tired of “the same old varieties and wine styles,” they head to Sicily. The island is alive with the twin sounds of innovation and viticultural excitement as growers continue to fashion excellent wines from an enviable portfolio of indigenous grapes. Yet, one particular variety tends to get forgotten amongst all the hype […]

Sicilian white wines can be astonishing. With average summer temperatures hovering around 37°C in July, logic dictates that this Mediterranean island should struggle to produce fresh and racy whites. And yet, in the vast majority of vintages, that is what Sicilian growers achieve. This is particularly remarkable as drought is a routine occurrence in Sicily, […]

The Italian wine scene is a rich melting pot of world-class grape varieties, esoteric gems, and generally maligned styles. Until very recently, Bombino was in the last category. A victim of Italy’s mid-20th century obsession with making an easy buck, gallons of lackluster Bombino were produced in the regions of Lazio and Puglia, often used […]

Certain wine regions require little or no introduction. Piedmont is such a destination – the home of seductively-scented Nebbiolo is loved and admired by sommeliers, collectors, and wine lovers across the world. Indeed, this corner of northwest Italy has been in the fine wine business for hundreds of years. It does not need to take […]

Boasting an unparalleled collection of indigenous grape varieties and unique terroirs, Italy is never short of a surprise or two. Albana is a pertinent example: the grape is one of the last unsung heroes of Italian white wine. Long ignored by the global wine trade, Albana suffered because it is not found in the country’s […]

Known for a good reason as the King of Cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano is a major protagonist at dinner tables worldwide. Although little has changed since it was first produced over a thousand years ago, its popularity, versatility, and relevance to current-day dinner tables have never been greater. History We owe a lot of thanks to […]

Lusciously dense, glossy dark brown, and with an intense kaleidoscope of flavor, balsamic vinegar is known as the Black Gold of Italy’s Emilia Romagna region for good reason – the distinctive bottles of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale are the precious jewels of the table. The traditions and procedures surrounding the sumptuous elixir are deeply ingrained in […]