The village of Corno di Rosazzo is in the province of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of the 20 regions which make up Italy and perhaps one of the least...
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.
Graziano’s Bardolino
Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy, has a surface area of around 370 sq kms. Such a huge mass of water acts as a giant heat sink and it produces...
Valpolicella Heaven
"‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings," wrote Led Zeppelin in their famous song, Stairway to Heaven, and this is true in all languages....
The Valpolicellas – Meet The Family
The centro storico of Verona is unarguably beautiful. The Roman amphitheatre is, by and large, intact and every year hosts opera performances, as...
A Michelin-Starred Primitivo
In September Vinnie and I happened to find ourselves deep into the heel of Italy, near the town of Manduria, home to Primitivo di Manduria. In the...
Trulli Minutolo
Recently, Vinnie and I were fortunate enough to find ourselves in Puglia in the "heel" of Italy. The flat coastal plains are full of massive olive...
Heaven and Hell in the Land of Chianti Classico
Travelling through Tuscany, towards that special part of the region that is allowed to call its wine Chianti Classico, Vinnie and I passed through...
Heroes of The Primitivo Grape
We all have our heroes. Those of our youth often appear to us as gods, and though, through the focussing lens of time, their status may be...
Chianti Classico, Forever Changes
Everything must change in order to stay the same is a quote from a famous Italian novel, Il Gattopardo, and while the plot was set in Sicily at the...
Summer in Frascati…
Vinnie and I love the centre of Rome for its history, its art and its architecture - but not in August. In August, Rome is to be avoided. It is hot,...