Christmas season has officially begun for me. While I haven't yet seen the gorgeous tree at the Met this year, I saw Handel's Messiah at Carnegie Hall last night, a tradition for a number of years and looking forward to toasting with sparkling wine. I love sparkling wine in all of it's iterations - Champagne,... Continue Reading →
Monday Musings: Do People Still Read Top 10 Wine & Spirits Lists?
As the holidays roll around, I am thinking again about what people are reading during this time of year. My biggest query is do people still read top 10 lists? Or is it now top 5 since we are becoming a society with ever-shorter attention spans. I am going to go with top three for... Continue Reading →
Discovering Maury AOC for December’s French #Winophiles Chat
I love sweet wines so when I saw that the French Winophiles group was writing about French dessert wines, I thought I would join for the first time. I'm part of a blogging circle about Italian wines but thus far haven't join the Francophiles. In truth, I am a Francophile of longstanding. I majored in... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Montepulciano Nero
Montepulciano is a red grape that grows throughout central Italy. It is most widely found in Le Marche and Abruzzo. It's confusing to many who think that Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is made with this grape. It's also sometimes erroneous thought to be the same grape as Sangiovese. It's not. It can be a vigorous... Continue Reading →
Monday Musings: Do Luxury Products Matter When Faced With Terrorism Threat?
Every single time something happens like the incident today in New York City in the subway, I ask myself if luxury products really matter. It's not just a knee jerk reaction, I actually really think about it and wonder is there anybody out there who cares when the chips are down. I think the answer... Continue Reading →
Sunday Sippers: St Amant Tawny Port from Lodi, CA
I had never heard of Lodi, CA before I went to a Society of Wine Educators conference some years ago in California. Or at least I wasn't aware of it. Infact, I'm pretty sure my first home winemaking exploit was done with grapes that also came from Lodi. In any event, I discovered Lodi at... Continue Reading →
Amateur Winemaking Round 3: Super Teaneck In The Works
Back in September I bought a host of materials to try my hand at home winemaking. This is not my first time trying to make wine at home but I am hoping to be more successful this time around. I first made wine in my home in 2006. It was not a huge hit but... Continue Reading →
Thoughts On Pearl Harbor, Family, Milan
December 7th is always a strange day. On the one hand, I think of Pearl Harbor, the day that will live in infamy and how the USA got into World War II and all that that meant and all the lives that were lost on this day. My great Uncle was at Pearl Harbor. It... Continue Reading →
Wine Wednesday: Azienda Agricola Quaquarini’s Sangue di Giuda
This week's Wine Wednesday is dedicated to a winery from the Oltrepo'Pavese. Few people think immediately of Oltrepo' when thinking about Italian wine but that is a mistake. The area has 179 wineries plus 1300 growers that are members of the consortium Oltrepo'. The area has 13,269 hectares and constitutes some 55% of Lombard viticultural... Continue Reading →
Monday Musings: When Will Tawny Port Become A Staple In US Dining?
It's snowing here at Avvinare.com which means it's December. It's the first Monday of the month which means I am on my way to the International Wine Center's Diploma dinner. I got my diploma back in 2008 but I still love to come to this dinner. It starts the holiday season for me. Every year... Continue Reading →