As I explained to Vinnie, a long, long time ago - before he and I met - I was taking my first faltering steps in the world of wine. Back then I knew...
Travels In Italy
Hi! My name is Andy and Vinnie is my corkscrew…
….and we are on a mission. We are travelling the length and breadth of this enchanting country seeking out the finest artisanal wineries and vineyards for you to visit and enjoy the myriad different wines they produce.
My love affair with Italy goes back almost 20 years to the time I was seated outside a bar in Florence, enjoying the spring sunshine on my pallid English skin, when I was captivated by the beautiful intonation of a waiter taking an order from another customer. I subsequently discovered that he was speaking Tuscan Italian, considered to be the purest form of the language. At the time I could not understand a word and I knew I had to learn it..
So the journey began and, along the way, I bought a house in Italy, obtained a Master’s in Art History and led tour groups all over Italy, all the time enjoying the fruits of the winemakers’ arts.
Now the time has come to share with you what I discovered along the way, as I look for those devoted artisans who dedicate themselves to the art of viticulture and seek to produce wines that reflect the land which gave birth to them. As the famous Italian intellectual and gastronome, Luigi Veronelli wrote, “Il vino è il canto della terra verso il cielo,” – wine is the earth’s song to the heavens. So join me and let’s seek out these songs together.
More Than Montepulciano
Vinnie and I were travelling through the hills that separate the mountainous Apennine peaks from the narrow coastal strip in northern Abruzzo when...
A True Trebbiano
Driving through the hills behind the coastal plain of Abruzzo it is impossible not to feel a certain timeless quality in the gently rolling...
A Mighty Montepulciano
“The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom, for we never know what is enough until we know what is more than enough,'' posited William Blake...
A Very Tasty Trebbiano
Many of us are conscious of the ties that bind Italy and the United States. Sometimes this awareness is limited to the effects of movies like The...
Giulio’s Good Life
Inside all of us there is that small seed of self-sufficiency, that desire to be independent, not to be reliant on the anonymous organisations that...
Classic Cars And A Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo
Driving through Italy Vinnie and I are privileged to see some iconic examples of the automotive designers' art on our travels. From the miniscule...
Guido’s Corner of Abruzzo
Vinnie and I were travelling through the Apennine mountains that form the backbone of Italy, heading from Rome to Pescara in the Italian region of ...
Montepulciano From The Mountains
Vinnie and I were high in the Apennine mountains in Abruzzo, hunting down a Montepulciano wine, and my musings turned to maps. I have been...
Schioppettino Valley
We have driven east across the billiard-table flat Friulian plain to arrive in the foothills of the Julian Alps; more precisely we are in the...