To me, loving Italian wine means embracing diversity; rallying on the rebels who elude the pressure to conform. Ironically, this urge to express originality is at odds with the very survival of many winemakers, for in order to effectively market a “brand” there needs to first exist a uniform identity to which a critical mass subscribe. The…
Top tips for visiting Italy
I put together this page on resources to use when travelling or living in Italy so you can easily access the content needed in one place. Use this page to help you discover the best places to visit in Italy, how to find good accommodation, the best places to eat, how to order food and…
Think you know Prosecco? Think again. Cellar Tour: Bisol
Sparkling wine enthusiasts may turn their noses up at the mention of Prosecco, the world’s leading sparkling wine in terms of volume sold (160 million bottles sold), but like many things in Italy, to every rule there is an exception. What is true is that the Prosecco region has grown at a disturbing pace…
A Guide to Good Value High Quality wines: What makes a true wine aficionado?
Nowadays many people seem to be of the opinion that loving wine means drinking the most expensive wines in existence. While particularly at the more affordable end of the market, the price tag has some correlation with the quality of wine as it will determine how much the wine maker could afford to spend on creating the…
The Best General Wine Apps and Italian Wine Apps
Think Italian wine complicated? Think you need to remember every wine? Think again. I often remember the place I enjoyed a wine or with whom rather than the details of the wine. Nor can I remember every producer and which of their many wines they do best. With the apps I list below, you can record every wine…
Cellar Tour: Vigne di Zamo and their surprising wines
I vividly remember 20 years ago, a Shanghainese friend telling me that she would love to travel to Europe one day. I was shocked when she said she really wanted to see Bulgaria, Romania and Yugoslavia. The most obvious destinations were clearly Paris, Rome, Venice and Barcelona. But she knew little of these cities. This…
Top 8 reasons to visit a forgotten corner of Italy: Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia is an exotic part of Italy with a distinctive Slavic flair. The cuisine is unique in its extensive interweaving of sweet, savoury and spices such as gnocchi di susine (sweet plum dumplings) which are served as a first course, the same as pasta. The geography varies from crystal blue Alpine lakes and the…
Cellar Tour: Hofstatter and its Alpine cowboys
Hofstätter is located in a 15th century building founded as an inn by Joseph Hofstatter in the town of Tramin (Termeno) in Alto Adige. This is the Germanic part of Italy and Tramin looks more like Austria. The inhabitants speak German first then Italian and Ladinish. Hofstätter wine was originally produced from the inn’s mountain-side…
Cellar Tour: Two friends and a dream – Pojer e Sandri
Stories of enduring friendship are always a Hollywood hit, quite possibly because they are quite rare. This is particularly true when coupled with business. Pojer e Sandri’s story is more like that of a Silicon Valley hi-tech start-up out of a student’s parent’s garage rather than a veritable Italian winery. In 1975 Pojer e Sandri…
Cellar Tour: Allegrini: the perfect marriage of culture and wine
Villa della Torre Allegrini is headquartered in the impressive 16th century Villa della Torre in Fumane in the heart of Valpolicella in Veneto. The fortress-like villa was commissioned by Giulio della Torre, a well-known merchant from Verona, employing three important architects of the time (Giulio Romano, architect of the Palazzo Te in Verona, Michele Sanmicheli and Giovan…
