Prosecco vs Champagne vs Spumante I have a small bone to pick, and it’s been sitting in my glass for a while now. Every time someone hands me a glass of Prosecco and calls it “Italian Champagne,” a tiny part of me dies. Not dramatically. Just a little. The way…
You’ve probably been ordering wine in Italy the hard way. Don’t worry, so has almost everyone. Here’s how it usually goes. A tourist grabs the wine list, scans it for familiar names like Merlot, Chardonnay, or Pinot Grigio, finds none of them, and quietly starts sweating. A few seconds later,…
In many Italian kitchens, the wine arrives before anyone says grace and long before anyone says “notes of blackberry.” A grandmother sets down bread, fills the glasses halfway, and tells you to eat before the pasta gets cold. That scene explains more about Italian wine than many tasting rooms do….
This might be the most controversial thing I write on this blog. Not because Italians don’t love food. They absolutely do. This is a country that can turn a conversation about pasta into a family argument lasting three generations. But after spending time around Italian wine culture, I’ve become convinced…
I need you to stop whatever you’re doing right now. Put down your glass — actually no, keep the glass. You’re going to need it. A while back I wrote about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s winery, Château Miraval — this insanely gorgeous estate in the south of France where…
When God Gave One Man a Voice & a Vineyard Let me tell you something about Andrea Bocelli that most people don’t know. Before the world knew his voice. Before the Grammy nominations, the sold-out arenas, the duets with Celine Dion and Ed Sheeran, the performance at the Pope’s front…
A few years ago, I watched a man order a bottle of wine that cost more than some people’s monthly car payment. The waiter carried it to the table with the kind of care usually reserved for newborn babies and priceless artwork. The label looked impressive. The table looked impressed….
1. The Wine Snob I went to a fancy wine tasting last weekend. You know the type — everyone holding their glass like it contains the last evidence in a murder trial. The sommelier pours a thimble-sized amount and announces, “Notice the subtle notes of blackberry, tobacco, and leather.” Leather….
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