In this post, I publish my notes of a Webinar I presented to the members of the Wine Scholar Guild on Sardinia on 20 April 2022.
It was a fantastic opportunity for me to share my discoveries on a most fascinating territory. A place with a rich history and culture, another world altogether.
I feel proud to have had an active role in influencing and guiding this initial stage. Most of all, I feel privileged to have worked until now under the guidance of Silvano Brescianini, the President of the Consorzio.
The experience of France and Australia in Hong Kong markets has demonstrated that focus on consumer-centric events and a high level of support to the importers is critical to their outstanding success.
A one of a kind historical tasting of 1997 Amarone and Recioto wines from Italy’s Valpolicella gathered a group of erudite and passionate wine lovers to discover their aging potential...
Remaining true to artisanal methods of production, the family has fundamentally transformed Grappa and made it a symbol of the Italian art of living.
The first thing you notice when meeting the Nonino family is its incredible energy. An energy so powerful that it feels like being drawn into a whirlwind. After a few minutes, you realize that it is not energy that animates them, it is ideas. Ideas so advanced that you cannot help feeling a step behind, always trying to catch up. People will tell you that meeting the Noninos changed their lives forever, that encountering this legendary family is a transformational experience.
Iconic and quintessentially Super-Tuscan yet deeply attached to the roots and the territory where it originates.
An ancient Japanese proverb says, “the meeting between two persons is where everything begins.” It is also how the extraordinary story of Luce came to be, a story that we had the privilege to experience through a historical tasting going back to 1997 of this Iconic wine hosted by Lamberto Frescobaldi at the magnificent Casa degli Atellani in Milan....
Turriga is today an Italian icon thanks to vision, determination, and the valorization of Sardinian’s patrimony...
A fascinating historical tasting of Lamole di Lamole Vigneto di Campolungo stemming from a hidden corner of the Chianti Classico region.
At the HK Wine Fair last month, I began a new series of wine courses that I call "Taste For Pleasure". Here, the focus is obviously on pleasure, but I want to tell stories about the wines so that participants can relate to the emotions of the winemakers, the beauty of his region and the traditions and culture that invariably influence the final style and quality of the wine.
At the Hong Kong Wine Fair earlier in November, we presented a series of 15 tastings on the beautiful wines of #Italy. During 3 masterclasses held each day of the fair, we discovered 18 wonderful wines of Franciacorta.
That Maurizio Zanella is considered a visionary when it comes to Italy’s Franciacorta is conventional wisdom. That his vision also extends to Japan is fascinating.
Still preparing for the Vinitaly International Academy exam, I created various MindMaps (
A work in progress, these are notes gathered during my study of the excellent & award winning book by Ian D'Agata on Native Grapes of Italy (http://amzn.to/1QKvmrC). As well, I used the thorough website of the Italian National Registry (http://bit.ly/1Q7IqE7) for photos & other information.
Here is what i call “comfort wine”, beautifully paired w/ a rack of lamb this evening… Exactly at the moment when I like my wines aged, velvety but still firm, still fruity but mellowed w/ a touch of leather, game, & tobacco. Caressing texture w/ a bit of grip. Lip-smacking finish… Impossible to resist another glass…
For me, the most beautiful thing about Italian wines is its diversity, especially of its grape varieties, and here is a wine that is must be one of the most perfect embodiment of this concept.
Made with the grape Oseleta, it was "rediscovered" in the
Proud to be certified as "Italian Wine Ambassador" by the Vinitaly International Wine Academy!
A visit at
Perhaps Italy's best kept secret...
If you are like me, opening a new bottle of wine is akin to going on an adventure. Not really knowing what to expect at the outset, full of new discoveries at every corner and certainly eye-opening.
Today, 2 beautiful discoveries at #VinitalyAcademy in Verona... Montalbera L'Accento Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato 2013 & Donnafugata Kabir Moscato di Pantelleria 2013...
Another interesting tasting last night w/ the
I just received an email from Giovanni Manetti from Fontodi who declared himself "very happy with the 2014 vintage, thanks to almost perfect for 30 days in September"...
Leonardo Mustilli of the high quality Cantine Mustilli was the 1st to bottle a monovarietal Falanghina wine... His best is "Vigna Segreta"...
Falanghina is a very ancient grape that was probably brought by the greeks in the olden days. Some say its name come from the latin "phalanga", the word to describe wooden poles the greeks used for wine training. It almost came to extinction in Campania until Leonardo Mustilli decided in 1979 to seriously consider how to make fine wines out of the grape. Since, several producers have caught on and planted the grapes in various terroir around the region producing some very interesting and rewarding whites.
Here are new Grape Profile Tables this time for Italian Grape Varieties in white & red color - you can find it here from my Dropbox folder.
The tables were compiled using the excellent book on Italian Grapes by Ian D'Agata - "Native Grapes of Italy" (http://amzn.to/1JYRo3C).
It is somewhat a tragedy when modernism & progress threaten the hard work for 4 generations of winemakers in a region that produces absolutely beautiful, if a little secret, gems of Italy...
Last night, I had an affair w/ a little beauty... Her name is Venissa... Oh-so seductive the little devil... W/ an amazing texture, so caressing & delightful...
Many questions of the MW (now) paper 4 on business are focused on topics along the lines of: "what can be done to revitalize this or that segment of the wine industry". As the wine industry is sooo conservative, surely, one of the key answer must be: INNOVATE.
Here is what Grappa Nonino did with their Grappa.
Actually for me, the real beauty of this wine is in its spirit, it is a wine about a family, about a land, and about the circle of life. When he created “Dino”, Giovanni Manetti did not only create a new wine for Fontondi, he created a tribute. Named in honor of his father who passed away in the early 2000, it links the winery back to its roots. where it all began.
I am always puzzled when I hear "wine experts" say that the newly created quality classification of Chianti Classico, the "Gran Selezione" can only confuse wine lovers.
"Gran Selezione" means exactly what it means: "best selection", the "cream of the crop", the best of the best, the top. I doubt one needs a university degree in rocket science to understand that...
I was fortunate last week to taste the newly released Rosso Venissa 2011 during a stunning sunset cruise before it was even introduced to the italian press on last Sunday.
In un tranquillo pomeriggio di Settembre e’ stato piacevole incontrare per alcune ore ed in via informale Giovanni Manetti titolare dell’Azienda Agricola Fontodi. Passeggiando per le vigne abbiamo raggiunto la stalla dove, con un progetto nato nell’anno 2000, si sono raggiunti gli obbiettivi di reintrodurre l’allevamento delle mucche di razza Chianina in Panzano in Chianti (Conca d’oro) e produrre il compost necessario alla coltivazione organica dei vigneti in maniera autonoma. In passato tali bovini usati principalmente per lavori agricoli venivano macellati solo alla fine della carriera di lavoro sviluppando gli arti anteriori, la parte meno pregiata.
I am not shy to admit that, until last April, my love affair with Nebbiolo, the grape responsible for the wines of Barolo and Barbaresco, was not on solid grounds. But, a meeting with ArPePe's Isabella Pelizzatti Perego at Vinitaly in Verona changed that forever...