… so very excited to go on my first trip with the Association of Wine Educators (ASE). I have already met a few of them at UK related events and am curious to learn more about the Valpolicella region
Also very excited that Michelle Shaw is leading the group – I had last seen her in [...]

 
… as a loyal student of ancient roman culture, it was quite a treat to listen to speaker Maurizio de Rosa, export Manager of Feudi de San Gregorio, not just speak about ancient romans as if they were next-door neightors, yet also animate his slide presentation with busts of ancient roman emperors.
Very excited to read [...]

Banfi Brunello Tasting

So there is nothing quite like driving up to a romantic Italian castle in a private chauffeured limousine on a gorgeous sunny day – unless that includes tasting some of the world’s best wine.
Now the Italian castle in question is Castello Banfi, known in the 13th century as Poggio alle Mura. If you [...]

Review of Collio
 
One of the more indulgent pleasures in today’s frenzied world (especially when it comes to the tiny kitchens of Manhattan) is to buy a glossy cooking magazine with mouth-watering photographs of incredibly decadent cuisine, and just sit there, savoring a glass of wine as you read the recipe and pretend you are actually [...]

Pietro Ratti
Tom Maresca and Charles Scicilone of New York’s Wine Media Guild have done the impossible — they have put together a fantastic tasting of 2005 Barolos with Pietro Ratti, son of the late Renato Ratti and owner of the family winery in La Morra, to come to NY and speak to us.

Overall, the wines [...]

Professor Attilio Scienza

Seminar Tasting
"The Italians seem so happy to be here in New York," says a friend, after the Friday night close of the Italian Wine Exchange Grand Tasting. "Why is  that?"

Yes, it’s true – the Italians did really seem happy to be here and have the opportunity to share their wine and the love [...]

Vino 2010 Italian Wine Week

… so I am on my way to the opening of New York, February 3, 2010
I had spent the opening day (February 3) in the Napa Valley at a conference related to the Masters of Wine (though happily we did have an Italian wine seminar with many examples of great Italian [...]

“Why is Barolo so expensive!” I remember asking a savvy clerk in my local wine store, fresh from my first class in Italian wines. As an exuberant young student I had been eager to taste the regions I studied, yet the upper-market wines from Piedmont seemed totally out of reach. Even the new vintages were [...]

Italy is one of the world’s most imported wines, and for good reason – the country boasts more than 1000 different varieties of grapes. Many collectors swoon for their Barolo and Barbaresco, high-acid, long lived wines that pack a powerful…

Italy is one of the world’s most imported wines, and for good reason – the country boasts more than 1000 different varieties of grapes. Many collectors swoon for their Barolo and Barbaresco, high-acid, long lived wines that pack a powerful…

"I want to like Italian wines," a friend says over dinner at a swank Italian restaurant in Manhattan. "But the reds sort of freak me out. I don’t know what it is, maybe too much acid, not enough tannin …"
With over 1000 grapes, Italy has enough wine and styles to please every palate on the [...]

Think of Calabria and what is the first thing that springs to mind? For me (a classic film buff) it is the Fellini film The Nights of Calabria. So you can imagine my surprise at an invitation to taste wines…

Do you love Italian wine? Join the crowd – Italian wine is one of the most popular imports; and with over a thousand grape varieties and many different climates, soil types, and elevations, one can easily spend a lifetime understanding…

Think of a Ferrari and you think of a gorgeous sports car, right? A sleek, sexy icon of pleasure that personifies quality and luxury. So when I was first poured a glass of sparkling wine called Ferrari, I made the…

“My grandfather started the winery in 1960,” says the handsome and quite charming Massimo Zorzettig, co-owner and sales director for La Tunella, a winery located in the northeastern region of Friuli, Italy. I am sitting with Massimo, his translator, and…

… now you might be wondering why this blog has been so quiet … and the reason is I just got back from a trip to Italy. In any event, one of the towns I visited was Cinque Terre. The…

So, do you know your DOC from your DOCG? And hey, what about explaining the difference between a Dolcetto D’Alba and a Barbaresco D’Alba? NYC has many wine education events. For those of you in NYC who read this blog,…