WINE

The story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
I spent the past week traveling around California with Daniele Cernilli, aka DoctorWine.
Daniele is one of the most renowned wine critics and journalists in Italy and he came to California for a series of wine seminars and tastings for both the trade and consumer in conjunction with his book The Ultimate Guide to Italian Wine 2018.
While I was organizing these events, I worked with him to design menus for four meals to pair with the wines. From planning the menus to sitting down for the meals, I absorbed much of the insight he had to share about the importance of food and wine pairing.
Daniele made a point of the fact that Italians eat and drink together. They believe that wine is meant for food and explained that pairing wine and food “is a religion for us.” There are many considerations when it comes to food and wine pairing, and Daniele offered a few key tips.
12 June, 2018
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
When I think of vineyards, I think of rolling hills covered with vines as far as the eye can see. But, recently, as we were driving through the city of Torino, in Piemonte, Italy, we crossed the Po River and drove up a hill and entered a park. There in the park was a large chateau and just to the side of it was a vineyard. This vineyard, Vigna della Regina, is located in the city of Torino and is one of only a few vineyards located in urban settings in Europe.
As I did a little research, I was able to find only a few other urban vineyards in Europe. Historically, there is Montmartre in Paris, the world’s most famous urban vineyard. And there are 1,700 acres of vineyards in the city of Vienna, Austria. More recently, urban vineyards were planted in Thessaloniki in Greece, London in England and the island of Mazzorbo in Venice in Italy.
Vigna della Regina, the vineyard in Torino, has a history of 400 years, dating to the 1600s. Located in the center of Torino, the vineyard is next to the Villa della Regina, a former residence of pleasure for the royal family. Bombing during World War II resulted in the vineyard being abandoned for 50 years. Then, in 1994, the Ministry of Culture began rebuilding the home. It took them 10 years and then they called on the Balbiano family, a famous wine producer in the Torino Hills.
07 June, 2018
If there is one wine that makes me smile every single time, it is the slightly sweet, slightly effervescent red wine called Brachetto. What is not to like about this wine? It brings a smile to everyone's face and it is the Please The Palate pick of the week. Brachetto is a grape that is grown in the Piemonte region in the north of Italy, where Moscato is also made. Brachetto is an aromatic variety. It is the first wine I drank when I lived in Italy many years ago. It was so fresh, friendly and inviting and I drank it every day for 6 months while living in Italy. And while it is not as common to drink in the US, I always seek it out and never pass up a chance to drink it.
02 June, 2018

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register. Saying that Chilean wine equals value wine is “like sticking fingers in a wound,” explained Rodrigo Soto,...

31 May, 2018
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
This past week, I had the opportunity to try Tunisian wine. Yes, Tunisian wine.
From what I understand, this is the first time that Tunisian wine is available in the U.S., thanks to Kathy Bailey who has started to import them through her company Travis Wine Imports.
I was intrigued when Kathy contacted me a few months ago about putting together a small trade and media lunch with the wines. I was all the more impressed after I tried them and think that it is an interesting story to share.
Tunisia is located on the northern coast of Africa. Wine has been made in Tunisia for more than 2,000 years. In fact, Tunisia is home to the world’s first documented viticulturist, Mago (or Magon), who was an agronomist, viticulturist and writer in Ancient Carthage (200 BC). Mago wrote the first known guide to growing and cultivating vines and making wines.
29 May, 2018
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