For my latest entry over at MyNameIsBarbera.com, we return to some video action for the Barbera: In the Glass section. In this short episode, I get schooled by Vinchio and Vaglio‘s Tessa Donadieu on why the wine that forms the base of the Monferrato Barbera quality pyramid – the Piemonte Barbera DOC – ought to…
Category: on the road
The Week That Terrantez Took Over My Brain (Tasting Old Terrantez Madeira)
“As uvas de Terrantez Não as coma nem as dês, Para vinho Deus as fez.” * Earlier this month, I had what amounted to a kind of dream speaking gig for me: leading Madeira masterclasses in both Boston (at Committee) and NYC (at Rouge Tomate Chelsea). Pinch meeeeeee!!!! I was a hired gun for these…
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2017 Critics Challenge International Wine Competition Highlights)
I was once again fortunate enough to be invited to judge at the annual Critics Challenge International Wine competition, which took place late last month in Stay-Classy San Diego. CC is always one of the highlights of my professional year; the organizers, volunteers, and fellow judges are all top-notch, and the fact that they’re also great…
Less Is More (Marangona Lugana Recent Releases)
Alessandro Cutolo kind of looks like a viking. Aside from close proximity to a body of water (in this case, the Italian Lake Garda), however, the heavy-handed Old Norse warrior comparison fizzles out completely. Because at the crossing of the Veneto and Lombardia regions, Cutolo, as owner and winemaker of Lugana’s Marangona, crafts elegant, svelte…