Wine is fascinating because its appreciation forms an aesthetic community driven by genuine love for fermented grape juice. There are of course commercial interests involved. Wine isn’t liquid manna—someone must […]
Despite the contemporary focus on terroir and vineyard expression, winemaking never the less makes a difference. No place provides better evidence of this than Valpolicella. It’s hard to imagine a more uninspiring […]
After spending the last two weeks in Canada–two weeks in Vancouver and two weeks in the Okanagan Valley– Sunday we head back to the states, toward Walla Walla Washington and […]
We were feeling really rotten as we left Cinque Terre behind, heading toward Piemonte on our month-long visit to Northern Italy, having picked up a nasty cold on the tour […]
Our wine and food tour of Tuscany concludes with a journey to Liguria for a finale of seafood and scenery along Italy’s Riviera—the five fishing villages of Cinque Terre. Today […]
Chianti, Montepulciano, and Montalcino—the main wine regions in the Province of Siena—have strong traditions that exercise a gravitational pull on their wine styles. The commitment to earthy Sangiovese, the delicate style […]
Our visit to Brunello di Montalcino is the day I’ve been waiting for. As good as the wines have been in Chianti and Montepulciano, it is Brunello where Sangiovese […]
We are still in the province of Siena on Day 2 of our tour of Tuscany. The walled village of Montepulciano serves up medieval and Renaissance buildings decked out in […]
After a short stop in Florence, our tour headed south toward the Chianti Classico region of Gaiole with the first stop at Badia a Coltibuono (Abbey of the Good Harvest), […]
Our month-long trip through the wine regions of Central and Northern Italy began in Florence where we were to meet the tour that would traverse Chianti, Montepulciano, Brunello di Montalcino, […]
Roving Decanter 