Thinking about my love for Portugal, I realized that it is all thanks to the lovely lady in the photo, Aileen Robbins of the Dunn Robbins Group. I first met Aileen when I moved back to New York after having lived in Italy for many years. She was and is always a pleasure to see... Continue Reading →
Portugal Tasting Brings New and Old Friends To Town
I was very excited about the Portuguese tasting yesterday in New York City. It's been an intense wine week for me with great trips to Boston where I saw some new and old friends. Yesterday it was Portugal. I feel very lucky to live in a city where you can be tasting fantastic wines from... Continue Reading →
Wine of the Week: Chardonnay from Villa Brunesca
This week's wine of the week is from Villa Brunesca, a winey located in the Veneto. It was full bodied as one might expect from a Chardonnay with great textured aromas and flavors of apple and thyme. The wine spends six months of its lees and goes through partial malolactic fermentation according to their website... Continue Reading →
The Sweet Spot: Moscatel Galego Branco From Quinta Das Lamelas
On my recent trip to Portugal I was able to taste a wide array of still wines and fortified wines or ports which I had expected. The plethora of grape varieties and diversity of style, however, I did not. I also had no idea that there was another grape variety that we would sample in... Continue Reading →
LUGANA DOC: The White Wine of Lake Garda
One of my favorite places to visit in Italy is Lake Garda. I like sitting outside in a restaurant along the lake, eating the lake fish and drinking the local wine, in most cases Lugana DOC. While it wasn’t quite the same as Lake Garda, a dinner at La Pizza Fresca in NYC hosted by the Consorizo Tutela Lugana DOC was a good opportunity to try the new vintages.
Luca Formentini from the Selva Capuzza Winery
The Lugana denomination is on the border between the provinces of Brescia (Lombardy) and Verona (Veneto) to the south of Lake Garda. The soil is mostly white clay and limestone, which is difficult to work.
Angelica Altomare from the Cà Maiol Winery
The temperate breezes from Lake Garda influence the microclimate positively; it is mild and fairly constant with little difference between day and nighttime temperatures.
The Turbiana grape, aka Trebbiano di Lugana…
View original post 969 more words
Cork: A New Understanding Of What Is Behind Every Stopper
Very excited to see the team from Vigne Surrau tomorrow for a lunch in Boston. Looking forward to seeing you old friends in that great city as well as some new ones.
I have the good fortune to be in Sardegna as I am writing this. A magical and mysterious land, I think of it as a place of beaches, crystal blue water, rocks, sun, sheep, silence, Vermentino, Cannonau and Pecorino,. What I didn’t know was that it also has the second largest cork factory in Europe after Amorim. I once interviewed the head of that Portuguese company but I have never had the opportunity to visit a factory – until now.
Italy is one of the most important producers of cork in the world. Of the 2.2 million hectares of cork forests, some 225,000 of them are in Italy, 90% of which are in Sardegna and the other 10% in Sicily, Calabria, Lazio, Tuscany and Campagna. The wine industry is without a doubt the largest client of the cork industry and uses 70% of Italy’s total cork production.
While some countries…
View original post 326 more words
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Turbiana
Really looking forward to tonight, tomorrow and Thursday's events with the Consorzio of Lugana. The grape variety that they use in their wines is called Turbiana. It is closely related to Trebbiano di Soave but not to Verdicchio as was previously thought. It's a great, mineral, fresh and elegant wine. I can't wait to drink... Continue Reading →
Monday Musings: Women In Wine Resources
On my way to the women in wine symposium today, I have been looking at all the wonderful women in wine groups and websites. There are so many that it is quite impressive. One great resource that caught my eye is from Luscious Lashes. What an impressive and varied group.
Women in Wine Fridays: Fifth Annual Symposium Monday – October 17th in NYC
I am so looking forward to participating in this year's women in wine symposim. It will be my first time in attendance and I am really excited to see all of these wonderful women in the same room. Monday is a big day also for another event I will be attending, the Next Big Bite... Continue Reading →
Wine of the Week: Tawny Port from Cavas Santa Marta
I was lucky enough to go on a press trip to the Douro Valley a couple of weeks ago> I learned many things about Portugal and the Douro in particular and tasted some great wines. We visited 15 wineries that are part of a group called Soul Wines. We tasted both Ports and Douro wines... Continue Reading →