This week's variety hails from Southern Italy. It is called Malvasia Bianca B and is a biotype that is not related to other Malvasias. This one grows in Sicily, Calabria, Campania and Puglia, specifically in the provinces of Brindisi, Catanzaro, Cosenza, Crotone, Lecce, Siracusa, Vibo V., Avellino, Caltanissetta, Catania, Enna, Reggio Calabria, Salerno, and Trapani.... Continue Reading →
Guest Wine Writer Series | № 11 | Susannah Gold | Falling in Love with The Douro
Welcome to binNotes | redThread™ Inspired stories about wine and taste makers. By L.M. Archer, FWS | Bourgogne ML Continuing the Guest Wine Writer series I initiated in 2016, I’ve invited some of m… Source: Guest Wine Writer Series | № 11 | Susannah Gold | Falling in Love with The Douro
Holocaust Remembrance Day: January 27
Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was instituted in 2005 by the United Nations. I am putting stones, as one does in the Jewish tradition, on the graves of those who perished. These stones in the photos are in the Holocaust Museum in New York City. In the distance you can see the Statue of... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Malvasia Bianca di Candia (Lazio)
This week's variety is another Malvasia. It is called Malvasia Bianca di Candia. It's grows primarily in Lazio but also in Emilia Romagna, Le Marche, Umbria, Tuscany and Liguria. It is also sometimes called Malvasia Rossa because of the color the buds take on. However it must be distinguished from Malvasia di Candia. It likes... Continue Reading →
Italian Troubles: Political Crisis and Earthquakes
Miracles do happen. At least six people, including four children were pulled from the wreckage. I am really so happy to have just read this article that I am posting here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/20/italy-avalanche-six-people-found-alive-almost-two-days-hotel/
The scream by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch is such a powerful image that I like to post when something truly shocks, saddens or upsets me. I’m not even talking about the US elections here for I have decided not to write about them on this blog. Yet since I write so much about Italy, a country I consider my second home, I have decided that I can write about other parts of Italy and Italian culture and life that matter to me. For many years I was a political and economic journalist in Italy in the 1990s. Much has changed but much sadly remains the same, just different people running the show.
This is my first post on the topic and today I want to write about the terrible situation in Central Italy as a result of the recent earthquakes and the avalanche that followed and collapsed a hotel in…
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Italian Troubles: Political Crisis and Earthquakes
The scream by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch is such a powerful image that I like to post when something truly shocks, saddens or upsets me. I'm not even talking about the US elections here for I have decided not to write about them on this blog. Yet since I write so much about Italy, a... Continue Reading →
Chile On My Mind: Winter Travels
Today is a day I wish I were on a big trip to Chile. Luckily I can revisit through other people’s photos so for now, I am reposting this piece.
As the cold of January seeps into my boned, I am reminded of past holiday travels in winter time. One of my favorite trips in the last years was to Chile, a magical place in all ways. When I visited Chile, I had the occasion to travel to a few wineries but the trip also encompassed four days on Easter Island, travel in the Atacama Desert and a week in Patagonia. Lucky for me, I have been able to sample many Chilean wines in the States as well. Chile offers incredible value and a host of interesting wines at various price points. Here’s a nice piece by blogger Gabe Sasso from Gabe’s View on Chile for Snooth. Many rave about the Pinot Noir growing there. I have had a number that I liked but I still like to order Carmenere when looking at Chilean wines, more often than not. I…
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Italian Indigenous Varieties: Malvasia Nera from Bolzano
This week's indigenous variety is called Malvasia Nera, one of the many in the Malvasia family of grapes. I will be writing about Malvasia for many weeks to come. This first one is thought to have been brought introduced in the Veneto by Greeks in the 13th century, specifically the cities of Monebasia from which... Continue Reading →
Wine Wednesday: Old Vines Great Reserva 2013 from Teoria Winery in Douro Valley (Portugal)
During my recent trip to the Douro Valley in September, we visited 15 wineries, four a day. As most press people know, that isn't too many wineries, often you are asked to visit twice that number in one day. Yet even if it is only four wineries, journalists are never the same at the start... Continue Reading →
Thinking Of Martin Luther King and Today’s Issues
Withour making a comparison between Dr. King and others, I just want to quote him on this day: "A man (or woman) should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better. If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo... Continue Reading →