F or this observer, Italy is a source of endless fascination. They take rugged, sun scorched stone and turn it into a timeless beauty. The...

T his past week I have been in the Veneto as a guest of the Valpolicella Consorzio . The occasion was Amarone Anteprima , an annual event ...

W hen talking with my friends in Italy, I realize how little down time I take. Somewhere in August of last year (or maybe it was the year be...

J ust hours on the ground here in Italy. I’m spending what’s left of the weekend in Venice, which tonight is the most serene of republics....

T his past week in New York, I sat down in front of a microphone with Levi Dalton. And talked. And talked. Not so easy for this born-again...

T he heart of Europe is marching in Paris today in solidarity against the horrendous atrocities witnessed in the City of Lights this week. I...

I taly with her endless array of wines and wine styles is poised for a resurgence. The wine business is relatively healthy driven by the b...

2 014 has been a year in which I have done the least amount of blog posts since I started this blog on this day nine years ago. On the po...

H ow wonderful this world of wine can be, if only in our mind’s eye. Earlier this month I was leaving wine country in California, heading ...

T his came up last week over a bottle of Nebbiolo. I was in discussion with industry folk and the Old World/New World subject came up. Wit...

Bibere umanum est, ergo bibamus H e knew her early on. Every year or so they’d meet, usually around a dinner table, sometimes with frien...

L ast month I was communicating half-way across earth to New Zealand with my editor at Wine Searcher . We were going over ideas for a feat...

C an a wine cellar full of 90+ point wines make your life more meaningful? Will a 30+ year vertical tasting of an iconic wine make you hap...

L ooking out my back window, I see all the plants that were alive last week are now dead or dying. Winter has arrived. Before the brutal b...

T he world is a little less safe for Italian wine today. Dear friend Philip di Belardino has left us .