A Taste of Wine

Ubiquitous dousing of the stuff upon chicken wings, unrestrained squirtings over international food plates, smothering squeezes atop gourmet burgers.   That’s how it began, just like that.   And then, one day, irresistible and delicious, Sriracha addiction had claimed another. …

My idea of supper in Venice is eating at a finely set table on-board a flat-bottom boat enjoying the calm, cool quiet of the lagoon after a day of sailing its secret estuaries and hopping its tiny islands with their …

On October 13th, San Antonio Winery, kicked off its 100th anniversary on its historic location in Downtown L.A. – once in the heart of the city’s Little Italy. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, Mayor Garcetti’s Chief of Staff Ana Guerrero and L.A. …

Resting a splitting axe against my hip, I loosen the cowhide gloves. Two and one half cords of wood are split and stacked. The cool air and exercise have me feeling for a refreshing red. Inside, there is polenta cooking. …

I enjoy and appreciate Barolo and Barbaresco, the oft-referred to King and Queen of Italian wines, just as much as the next guy. Nebbiolo, the native Italian grape variety used to make Barolo and Barbaresco, is no doubt one of …

Wines from the hills around Pisa made it solidly onto my radar in 2015 after a luncheon in New York with wine producers Matteo Cantoni and Luca Tommasini. Their wines left an impression. Here’s what I wrote in a follow …

The wine journey is often filled with things unexpected. Learning that at least some portion of Malvasia Nera in Tuscany is likely the popular Spanish variety known as Tempranillo issued me a measure of unexpected surprise. Indeed, a molecular study …

It was poet Giosuè Carducci who gave Umbria the title, “green heart of Italy”. And for good reason…   Umbria truly is a lush, verdant region literally located in the heart of Italy. As with every other region, Umbria has …

Conversation about Sicilian wines so often leans toward the island’s well regarded white wines. Sicily’s white wines can indeed be wonderful. But, the island is also home to native red grape variety Nero d’Avola, which can turn heads, too, and …

One of the first things about Italian wine which I recall committing to memory is the quartet of grape varieties which could comprise the classic core blends for Valpolicella and Amarone wines, those being Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara. But, …