Clik here to view.
Bartolo Mascarello Retrospective (1958 - 2010) with Antonio Galloni: Tasting...
Bartolo Mascarello: A Historical Perspective, 1958 - 2010 was a tasting event organized by Antonio Galloni's Vinous and held at the 28º - 50º Maddox Street location in London on April 26, 2016. I have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Soldera Brunello di Montalcino through the Ages, 1981 - 2006 (with Antonio...
Gianfranco Soldera is notoriously curmudgeonly; does not brook fools gladly; does not make friends easily; prefers not to take visits from, or sell his wine to, people who do not share his philosophy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Champagne, red and white Burgundies, and a Bordeaux
Those were the parameters established for the dinner at Norman's to celebrate Juan David Valencia's first day on the job as Assistant General Manager at that prestigious Orlando restaurant.Juan is one...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Soldera Brunello di Montalcino through the Ages (1981 - 2006): A tasting with...
Neither of the Galloni back-to-back tastings of Italian wines (Mascarello and Soldera) held in London late last month was held at an Italian restaurant. And this was by design. According to Antonio, he...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Blind tasting at Cave Ox (Solicchiata, Castiglioni di Sicilia): My first wine...
I was scheduled to visit the Rioja region in late April with a wine friend and decided to extend that trip to include the Galloni tastings in London when they were announced. As it got closer to the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rocche di Castiglione: "One of the most prestigious crus in the Barolo DOCG"
Antonio Galloni has just capped a run of three mammoth Italian wine tastings (Soldera and Mascarello preceding) in three weeks with a truly epic retrospective of the Vietti Rocche di Castiglione dating...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Luca Currado's (Vietti Winemaker) perspective on Rocche di Castiglione
When the Galloni Vietti retrospective tasting (held at Vaucluse in New York City) was called to order, I found myself seated next to a gentleman with an Italian accent who seemed to know everyone...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A historical retrospective (1961 - 2011) of Vietti Barolo Rocche di...
Antonio Galloni described his May 10, 2016 Vietti Barolo Rocche di Castiglione retrospective as a "once-in-a-lifetime vertical tasting ... going back to the inaugural 1961." All of the wines for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Overview of the soils of Sicily
I recently made a visit to the eastern portion of Sicily and will be writing a number of posts on the wineries visited. I will intersperse the discussion of the wineries with details of the physical...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Labor of Love: The Launch of Suzanne Hoffman's book on Piemontese wine...
The big day had arrived. All of the years of hard work had resulted in a meticulously researched, professionally edited, and beautifully bound manuscript, a product – A Labor of Love– that Suzanne...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ristorante Il Centro: Priocca D'Alba's (Piemonte) contribution to culinary...
In the week or so that I recently spent in Piemonte, no higher praise did I hear, nor better dining experience had I, than for/at Ristorante Il Centro, the establishment owned by the Cordero family and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Orlando tasting of selected Greek wines: The sparkling and whites
Switching from absorption to evangelizing, I recently held a tasting of selected Greek wines for Sommeliers, retailers, and collectors here in Orlando. The tasting was held at Capital Grille...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tasting of selected Greek wines: The reds
My most recent post described a tasting that I hosted in Orlando for area Sommeliers, wine retailers, and collectors and, specifically, focused on the sparkling and white wines included therein. Based...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The history of quality wine production in Sicily (after Nesto MW and di Savino)
I visited a number of Sicily and Mt. Etna wine producers around the time of Contrada Dell'Etna, the annual event that showcases the region's producers, and I am slowly working around to reporting on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sicily rising: Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG and Vittoria DOC
On the afternoon of the day following Contrada dell'Etna, Brandon Tokash and I headed out from Mt Etna to visit a few wineries in the southern part of the island. The first wineries visited were...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Visit with Paolo Cali (Cantine Paolo Cali, Vittoria, Sicily): Dinner at...
After a scintillating and thought-provoking session with Frank Cornelissen at his winery (details in a future post), Brandon Tokash and I headed out on a 2.5-hour jaunt from Castiglione di Sicilia to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cantine Paolo Cali (Vittoria, Sicily): Vineyard tour and tasting
After an appetizing early breakfast at Locando Cos, we drove over to Cantine Paolo Cali for the second phase of our visit.Breakfast at Locando Cos on the COS estatePaolo welcomed us, indicating that we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Volcanic soils
During my recent visit to Sicily, I was able, thanks to the connectedness of my good friend Brandon Tokash, to spend three days in the Mt Etna region visiting producers and tasting a broad selection of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Climate in the Mt. Etna grape-growing region
In a recent Mt. Etna wine masterclass held in London, Ian D'Agata pronounced that a combination of three factors contribute to the "special" nature of the region's wines: (i) an alpine climate in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Landscapes and soils of the Mt Etna grape-growing region
"All Etna soil rests on, or directly derives from, lava that flowed and hardened for thousands of years, along with ejected pumice, lapilli, and windblown volcanic ash" (Nesto and di Savino). I explore...
View Article