Last week, Feb. 17 to be exact, Mollie Battenhouse, Wine Director at Maslow 6 in Tribeca, gave a fascinating talk on wines with an ancient lineage. She was joined by Peter Cousins of Cornell University and together they traced the path that some grape vines may have taken along the silk road. The talk was... Continue Reading →
Chile Day 13 & 14- Trip To Easter Island
Last year I had the good fortune to spend almost three weeks in Chile traveling happily up and down the country. One of the last things I did on the trip was take a plane to Easter Island, some five hours off the coast. When you first get off the plane, you are greeted by... Continue Reading →
Skiing in Valle d’Aosta Sipping Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle D.O.C.
I'm sitting at my desk in New York but I am armchair traveling to a time, not in the too distant past, when I used to ski in the Valle d'Aosta. I am lucky enough to have dear friends with homes in some wonderful ski towns such as Gressoney in the Valle d'Aosta. Gressoney is... Continue Reading →
Quick Updates About Wine Tasting In Coming Days In NYC
Just a quick note about some wine tasting that will take place in the New York area: Lucio Caputo's Gala Italia will be held on February 25 at the Marriott Marquis, as always. Last year I tasted some wines I really enjoyed including a few from Sicily that knocked my socks off. On March 1,... Continue Reading →
Tre Bicchieri Tasting In New York
Today was the Tre Bicchieri Tasting in New York. I didn't go. For the past few years I have worked at the event for a producer friend whose wines always win a Tre Bicchieri classification. This year, things were a bit different and I had too much to do to be able to go and... Continue Reading →
Women in Wine: The Rosina Sisters At La Mesma Make Gavi DOCG, A White Wine From Piedmont
Gavi always seemed to me to be an old fashioned wine, one that little old ladies drank. Somehow, it seemed declasse'. Boy was I wrong. Actually two Gavi wines were among my favorite wines tasted during the long marathon otherwise known as Vino 2010 held in New York from February 3 to February 5. They... Continue Reading →
Carnevale – How I Ended Up Moving To Italy
People always ask me how and why I chose to live in Italy for 15 years. The answer is of course complicated but one simple truth is that I went to Florence on the last day of Carnevale, Fat Tuesday, over 20 years ago today and fell madly in love. I was studying French in... Continue Reading →
Olympics, Georgia, Leonard Cohen and Valentine’s Day
I love the Olympics. I always have. I think it's the spirit of community or the idea of the world as a village that appeals to me so much. Of course, the athletic prowess of the competitors is beautiful and exciting to watch but that's not what made me teary as I watched the opening... Continue Reading →
Women in Wine: A Chat With Stellekaya’s Ntsiki Biyela
I met Ntsiki Biyela, a 30 something South African winemaker who was born and raised in Kwa-Zulu Natal, about a month ago during her visit to promote Stellekaya's wines in the United States. Ntsiki is one of only two or three black female winemakers in South Africa but that isn't the only reason that she's... Continue Reading →
