England, My England. Aka The British are Coming! While still a small industry, the quantity, and quality of the wines made in England and Wales are increasing. It’s getting hard to remember that English wine is only a recent success story. The death of English and Welsh wine In 1920, the last commercial vineyard in Britain was abandoned, finally ending a …
What is Franciacorta?
What is Franciacorta? Q: What is Franciacorta? A: A world-class sparkling wine region in Lombardy, Northern Italy. Franciacorta is the only real alternative sparkling wine region to Champagne. Their sparkling wine is world-class. I’m a huge fan and visit as often as I can. It’s a tiny area (map) of immense natural beauty, nestled between Bergamo and Brescia in Lombardy and bordering …
What does a Wine Writer do?
What does a Wine Writer do? What does a wine writer do? Sometimes you don’t need words. Here’s my version of the well-known meme “what I think I do and what others think I do”. The meme originator was artist Garnet Hertz. Read more at Hyperallergic. If you like this, then check out questions I wish you would ask me and …
Harry’s Bar in Venice. After Hemingway and Moorcock
Harry’s Bar in Venice. After Hemingway and Moorcock “The Cipriani family ran Harry’s Bar in Venice for 81 years. Many of the great and the good graced the tables at Harry’s Bar, which invented the Bellini cocktail and Carpaccio. Ernest Hemingway had his table in the corner as a regular patron. He made frequent reference to it in his book, Across …
Dievole: an authentic Chianti Classico is reborn
Dievole: an authentic Chianti Classico is reborn Here’s the new release of Chianti Classico from Dievole. This 2014 vintage featured at VinItaly 2016. I have tried Dievole wines before, but not recently. My old tasting notes say they were right. However, I found their Chianti Classico was a modern style; Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in new French oak. While …
Franco Manca Revisited – great authentic pizza
Franco Manca Revisited – great authentic pizza. Where can you find great pizza? Originally from Napoli, Pizza has travelled the world as a street food staple. However, in doing so, it became much traduced. Napoli finally introduced a law protecting traditional pizza by specifying the ingredients and cooking methods. Fortunately, there is also great pizza in the UK. One such purveyor …
Espresso Martini – Up All Night
Espresso Martini – Up All Night I love good coffee and fine alcohol, so unsurprisingly I adore Espresso Martini, first created by the legendary Dick Bradsell at London’s Soho Brasserie in the Eighties. It was originally called a Vodka Espresso. It has become known as an Espresso Martini although that is a slight misnomer because there isn’t any Gin used. …
Silvio Nardi Brunello di Montalcino 2010
Tenute Silvio Nardi Brunello di Montalcino Brunello di Montalcino is one of Italy’s most prestigious red wines. This Tuscan region surrounds the hill town of Montalcino, 25 miles south of Siena. Brunello (along with Barolo) became the first Italian wine region to achieve the top DOCG status in 1980. Since then, the global reputation of Brunello has soared. Tenute Silvio …
Masi Tupungato Passo Doble 2011
Masi Tupungato Passo Doble, Malbec/Corvina, Mendoza, Argentina, 2011. 13.5%, organic Masi is a heavyweight Italian producer making a superb range of wines. These include classics such as Soave, Valpolicella, and Amarone. The company expanded into Argentina and created Passo Doble in 1999. It comes from the Mendoza region at their high-altitude Vigneti La Arboleda vineyard; 140 hectares overlooked by the …
The Anteprima Amarone in Verona
The Anteprima Amarone, February 2016 In February 2016, I participated in the Anteprima Amarone for the first time. This event occurs annually and is arranged by the Consorzio di Tutela Vini Valpolicella. Held for the thirteenth time in beautiful Verona, this featured the new 2012 Amarone vintage. However, there was an opportunity to discover the Valpolicella region and its various …