“Old vines are great, but they’re, well, old.” Late last year, I had the pleasure of catching up (via Zoom) with Julie Julie Pedroncelli, who (after her father officially retired at the age of 90) is now President of Pedroncelli, a stalwart fixture on the Sonoma wine scense since its founding in 1927. With their…
Category: crowd pleaser wines
“The Opposite Direction Than Everybody Else” (Eugenio Collavini Recent Releases)
“There’s no air conditioning, and I am sweating!” The affable Luigi Collavini from Eugenio Collavini says that he’s uncomfortable in his family’s warm wine offices during our online tasting back in August; but you wouldn’t notice it on our Zoom call. Luigi is animated, and clearly eager to share his family’s story (and wines). One…
Peaks and… More Peaks (Highlights from VinoVIP Cortina 2024, Part 2)
Welcome to Part 2 of the highlights from my media jaunt to VinoVIP 2024, held in Italy’s rather dramatic (landscape-wise, anyway) locale of Cortina. For more background on the event, head over to Part 1. The main draw of VinoVIP is the grand tasting, held at Rifugio Faloria. This lodge is situated pretty much perfectly…
Dizzying Heights… of Italian Cabernet (Highlights from VinoVIP Cortina 2024, Part 1)
This recap is nearly a decade in the making. I was lucky enough to have been invited to attend the 2024 incarnation of VinoVIP Cortina, held in the incredible locale of Cortina, Italy (which will host the 2026 Winter Olympic games, and was host to much of the filming of Cliffhanger). That invitation can be…