VignaAlta, the flagship of Badia di Morrona

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability

Badia di Morrona VignaAlta

VignaAlta, the flagship of Badia di Morrona Badia di Morrona was featured in these pages last year with their I Sodi del Paretaio, a Chianti DOCG that comes in Annata and Riserva forms. You can read about those wines here. This article reviews their flagship wine, VignaAlta, a 100% Sangiovese designated as the up-and-coming Terre di Pisa DOC. Terre di Pisa DOC Wine …

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Bardolino Cru – the first vintage from the new subzones

Paul Howard Articles, Biodynamic, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability

Bardolino Cru: La Rocca, Montebaldo, Sommacampagna

Bardolino Cru – the first vintage from the new subzones On the eastern shores of Lake Garda, Bardolino DOC and Chiaretto di Bardolino DOC share geographical boundaries, and most wineries make both styles. However, Bardolino represents the reds (60%), while Chiaretto is the well-known Rosé (40%). Rule changes were ratified in April 2021 and applied to both from the 2020 …

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Le Cupole 2020 – IGT Toscana Rosso by Tenuta di Trinoro

Paul Howard Articles, Biodynamic, Blog, Italy, Sustainability

Bacchus by Cy Twombly, 2008. © The Cy Twombly Foundation

Le Cupole 2020 – IGT Toscana Rosso by Tenuta di Trinoro The late Andrea Franchetti created the Tenuta di Trinoro estate during the 1990s. Returning to Italy (he had been a wine broker in New York), he wanted to make the best Italian wine. For this, he chose a remote site in Tuscany, without any wine history, in the Val d’Orcia. …

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Christmas 2021 – a dozen delights

Paul Howard Articles, Biodynamic, Blog, Champagne, England and Wales, Food, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Organic, Spain, Sparkling Wine, Sustainability

Happy Christmas 2021

Christmas 2021 – a dozen delights Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to you all! Thanks for reading, supporting and encouraging me during this incredibly challenging year. Here’s my present to you all – the pick of the wines for Christmas 2021, together with a Christmas Card. This year there are a dozen delights. All come highly recommended for …

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Susumaniello by A. Mano – the Donkey of Puglia

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Italy, Sustainability

Susumaniello, aka The Donkey

Susumaniello by A. Mano – the Donkey of Puglia Susumaniello is a red grape native to Puglia, grown mainly around the major southern port of Brindisi, in the heel of Italy’s boot. Like some other Italian native grapes, Susumaniello became rediscovered in the late 1990s. Modern wine-growing has enabled it to make a significant comeback in this area, and it’s …

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Le Fraghe – a delightful Bardolino, any time

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability

Bardolino Montebaldo subzone

Le Fraghe – a delightful Bardolino, any time Regular readers will know that recent articles have been exploring the shores of Lake Garda – virtually, of course, as travel hasn’t been possible. Those wanting to catch up with these can find pink wine from Chiaretto di Bardolino and whites from Custoza and Lugana, all of which are DOC wine regions. But what …

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Tintilia – drinking the Hilltop Grape of Molise

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability

Tintilia del Molise DOC - Settevigne, Claudio Cipressi

Tintilia –  drinking the Hilltop Grape of Molise. Tintilia is an Italian native red grape variety that comes from the region of Molise. Despite this variety being of high quality, it became abandoned because it had low productivity when quantity was vital to survival. Besides, constant rural depopulation and the second world war’s devastations helped hasten its demise. However, now that …

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Tourelles Cinsault – a wine for our times, WOTY 2020

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Lebanon, Organic, Sustainability

Domaine des Tourelles Cinsault VV

Tourelles Cinsault – a wine for our times, WOTY 2020 The WOTY (wine of the year) 2020 award from Wine Alchemy goes to Domaine des Tourelles in Lebanon, for their splendid red wine, Cinsault Vieilles Vignes 2017. A wine for our times As is usual, the Wine Alchemy WOTY must taste great. It should also be organic, sustainable, show terroir, …

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Porchetta – An Italian Food Classic

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Italy, Recipes

Porchetta Van at Greve-in-Chianti

Porchetta – An Italian Food Classic One of the joys of cuisine in Italy is finding mobile food vans selling hot Porchetta, especially on weekends and national holidays. I recommend that you ask if there’s a van visiting nearby wherever you stay in Italy. It might be at a market or village celebration. Sometimes the regular vans are pitched on the …

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Tenuta di Ghizzano and a double anniversary

Paul Howard Articles, Biodynamic, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability, Travel

Tenuta di Ghizzano

Tenuta di Ghizzano and a double anniversary The Tenuta di Ghizzano occupies the gently contoured low hills of the Colline Pisane, southwest of Pisa, less than an hour away. Here, there’s plenty of wine grown in coastal Tuscany, yet they are often obscurities. Twenty-six generations of the Venerosi Pesciolini family have owned this 350-hectare estate since 1370. Today it’s in the …

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