Travel & Tasting Notes From A Couple of Wine Lovers
After a wine-soaked trip to Italy in April, where winery visits took center stage, we had a hankering for some big-city history and culture, heavy on the art, light on the vino. So we booked a trip to Spain, starting in Madrid [home of Dali, Miro, and Picasso], moving to Bilbao [home of the Guggenheim],… Continue reading Taking Flight in Madrid
OR, HOW WE SPENT [PART OF] OUR SUMMER VACATION Last Night's Pour of Acinore Like most wine lovers, we have favorite bottles that we return to time and again. From Puglia, two exquisite Primativos: Acinore and Rinforzo Primitivo Salento. From Napa, Edict and Burgess [a 2024 discovery] Cabernet Sauvignon. And from Trader Joe's by way… Continue reading Ten Wine Discoveries To Buy Now
It's easy to fall in love with a wine when you're surrounded by gorgeous vineyards and savoring local meats and cheeses while chatting with the staff. Every wine tastes good under those conditions! But sometimes, a wine that charmed us in situ was less charming when we got it home. You've likely had the same… Continue reading You Loved it at the Winery, but how Does it Taste at Home?
Put four opinionated oenophiles in a room with four Tuscan reds and you're sure to get a lively debate and a few surprises. Since our return from Tuscany [see our post], we've become evangelists for lesser-known wines from the Chianti region. So we threw down the gauntlet: we invited our wine-loving friends to a blind-tasting and… Continue reading Blind Tasting: Battle of the Super Tuscans
A Wine-Free Post about 36 hours on the Island of Sardinia Sardinia is having a moment. Like Portugal and Croatia before it, Sardinia tops plenty of European travelers' "must visit" list. It's hot and happening but still relatively uncrowded. And unlike Barcelona, Lisbon, and other overrun Southern European cities fed up with tourists, Sardinia graciously… Continue reading Three Days in Sardinia.
Siena is a glorious Tuscan city, markedly smaller than Florence but with its own storied history and fantastic architecture, food, and wine. Lisa had visited Siena 40 years ago (!) and Gary had never been, so we were eager to spend four days exploring its narrow streets and broad piazzas. Known worldwide for the Palio… Continue reading Drinking Chianti in Chianti
Great Wines from Our Trip to Umbria, Tuscany + Sardinia You Can Buy Locally from $18 to $100+ Stumbling on a small mom-and-pop winery in the middle of Italy can be a great joy. You sit with the winemaker, often in their kitchen/tasting room, and listen to stories about their passion projects. But ask where… Continue reading These 9 Wines have US Distribution
Underrated. Unappreciated. Overlooked. That’s Umbria. Always playing catch-up to neighboring Tuscany, with its celebrated Chiantis and Brunellos and swoon-worthy medieval hill towns. Umbria's wine culture “dates back to the Etruscans, from the 8th to 1st centuries BCE,” but Umbria has yet to claim its place in the pantheon of Italy’s picture postcard wine regions. It's… Continue reading Discovering Umbria: Italy’s Hidden Wine Gem
About 18 months ago we were in France, winding [or wine-ing?] our way through Paris, Bordeaux, and Languedoc. You can read about our adventures here. This year, we gave Italy its due: Rome, Umbria, Tuscany, and Sardinia. But first, another stop in Paris, where we started our journey with a two-night stay. Our primary goal… Continue reading Notre Dame + Wine Bars: The Perfect Paris Weekend
Fast food, quick-service, grab-and-go…the world of food seems to be less about enjoyment of a meal and more about the speed at which we can eat and run. The Slow Food movement has been working to change this dynamic since 1986. Founded in Italy [of course!] it promotes “the enjoyment of good, clean, and fair… Continue reading Slow Down & Sniff the Bouquet: Slow Wine Expo 2025
