It's hard to believe it's 52 years since the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King. He is my hero. I often wonder what life would look like today if he had lived. Such a waste and such a tragedy. I wonder what he would say about what he would see if he were alive today.... Continue Reading →
Cru Bourgeois – A Closer Look At Chateau Labadie
Chateau Labadie This month, the French #winophiles are traveling to Bordeaux. We were charged with looking at what's new in Bordeaux. I choose Chateau Labadie, a winery that is located in Bégadan in the Northern Médoc. The winery is not new but it changed it's core nature in the 1970s when the Bibey family bought... Continue Reading →
Chile On My Mind: Winter Travels
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... Continue Reading →
Wine Wednesday: Enrico Serfino Oudeis Brut Alta Langa DOCG 2016
Today's Wine Wednesday is a marvelous sparkling wine I recently discovered from Enrico Serafino. It's an Alta Langa DOCG wine, a category I wrote about a couple of weeks ago in this post. This particular winery has been active since 1878. The grapes for these wines are harvested from Barolo, Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, Unesco... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Fiano Bianco
I spoke about Fiano today on my Morning Grape series on Instagram. Since I wrote this post, I have visited Irpinia but not the city of Avellino. Still missing that experience. Fiano is a wonderful grape and since I wrote this, I have had many wonderful Fiano wines from producers such as Donnachiara, Tenuta Sarno, Cantina di Marzo, Azienda Petilia and others. Truly marvelous wines and ones that are great for laying down. What I have learned in the intervening years is just how wonderful these wines are with some age on them. Therefore, grab a bottle of Fiano d’Avellino, no grab 4 and lay them down for different periods of time and see how they age. Cheers to all.
This week we will again be looking at another great white grape variety from Campania – Fiano bianco. This is a very antique variety that existed during Roman times and is said to come from the area around Avellino. I have never had the good fortune to visit Avellino but have an old friend who hails from that city. He was quite the “cavaliere” (a man who is chivalrous) in the best sense of the term and that image of certain people and grape varieties remains in my mind.
Fiano grows best in volcanic soils. It produces wines with distinct minerality, good acidity and aromas and flavors of fruit, flowers and nuts. While it is usually vinified into dry wine, it can also be used in the production of late harvest or sweet wines. It grows in both Campania and Puglia.
This white grape variety is often blended with other…
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Sunday Sips: More Sake Pairings
This week's #WinePW group tried Sake and other wines with Asian cooking. On Saturday I made two dishes to pair with the bottles of Sushi I opened, one a sparkling sushi and the other a Junmai. This term means pure rice and water only are used, nothing is added. It is said to work with... Continue Reading →
Japanese Sake and Octopus Salad
This month the #WinePW crew is looking to pair wines with Asian dishes, led by Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla. Her invitation post is here. The premise is Saké or another wine with Asian dishes. I decided to virtually visit Japan again with #WinePW and write about Sake. I write, and honestly taste, Sake very infrequently... Continue Reading →
America The Beautiful
Like so many others, I am glued to the television and have been off and on since yesterday. The egregious assault on the US Capital yesterday, just one day after the historic Democratic win in Georgia has been a roller coaster of emotions. Italian friends have asked if I am afraid. No I am angry... Continue Reading →
Wine Wednesday: Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG Bele Castel
Ferraro Family Despite the domestic terrorism witnessed in our Capital today, I am continuing with my exploration of Italian sparkling denominations and wines. This Wine Wednesday is dedicated to Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG wines and one specifically from Bele Castel. I didn't know much about Prosecco from Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG previously so I was... Continue Reading →
Buona Befana – January 6th Holiday
Gearing up for the end of the winter holidays, everyone makes numerous resolutions, including me. One of mine is to write more copy on this blog and post more on other people’s blogs. Thank goodness for the blogging groups I participate in #ItalianFWT, #WinePW, #Winophiles, and this year a new one #WorldWineTravel which encourage me... Continue Reading →