You are going to die before you have a chance to experience all the things in life that spark your imagination. Go ahead, make a bucket list, as they say. If you're intellectually curious, that list won't be a finite body of goals; it will be a living organism that
Lucio Mastroberardino, one of the most prominent figures in the Italian wine world, died this week at the age of 45. His funeral is scheduled for today, January 31, in his hometown of Avellino, in the Campania region. Mastroberardino played a leading role in the rebirth of wine in Campania
Let’s imagine a relaxing, colorful place, or, as described by the Italian singer-songwriter Roberto Vecchioni, a site with "scattered houses, cobblestone streets, uninterrupted rows of trees, patches of olive trees, rosemary, roses, twisted and mighty oaks, inns that suddenly appear, where you sit down, drink the fresh Lugana, chat, have
There is a small fraternity of bottles that have, over the years, ebbed and flowed as my family’s house wine. They’re mostly red—Côtes du Rhône, Vacqueyras, Barbera, Valpolicella—plus a little white and rosé. All are under $20, and even cheaper by the case. These are table wines, drunk with meals
The Collio appellation, at Italy’s northeastern edge, offers an impressive array of wines. A number of varieties, both indigenous and French, thrive in its unique, mineral-rich soil and its temperate climate, buttressed by the Alps to the north and the Mediterranean to the south. Sauvignon, as Sauvignon Blanc is called
One of the things a lot of people look for in wines – in particular young-drinking wines – is a good dose of clean, expressive fruit. Logically, a great number of winemakers seek to provide just that, in a precise and reliable manner. As they do so, one of the
Mention Zinfandel to most wine consumers, and it’s quickly dismissed. It’s easy to see why. For starters, many Americans associate the variety with the cheap, sweet “blush” wines that became popular in the 1980s, like Sutter Home’s white Zinfandel. This style of wine will always have fans, but to my
My whole wine world is shaken. What does Syrah taste like? Are floral aromas pretty? Is a "typical Bordeaux" supposed to taste like medicine and ashes? I don't know anymore. I've been to a Brettanomyces tasting at UC Davis. I described it on Twitter as spending a day in a