A fter almost thirteen years writing this blog, observing the wine trade, from within and without, and folding those impressions into the ...

M y French cousins seem to be on a roll. They stand up to political bullies, they smoke when and where they want and they appear to be mor...

I t is very fashionable these days to call something a master class. Do a search and you will find any number of master classes, with famo...

I n a recent article for Antonio Galloni’s Vinous, Ian D’Agata made a case for age worthiness in regards to a white Italian wine, Verdicch...

W hile this site is primarily my web log of thoughts, emotions and observations from the wine trail (mainly in Italy), since I have “retir...

A ll across Italy there is an army of souls standing over fermenting tanks, hoses running everywhere, with the ubiquitous sweet-sour scent...

From the Native & Indigenous Italian Grapes Series I t was April of 2007, in Verona. Colleague and dear friend, Andrea Fassone, call...

An O-N-D Pep Talk F or the past four months I've felt like the mother of all road warriors, in service of Italian wine. I really tho...

From the Native & Indigenous Italian Grapes Series Vesuvius in Eruption by Joseph Mallord William Turner I n flyover country USA i...

A nother week, this time in my native place. As a native Angeleno ( and Californiano ), the circumstance of my birth was preceded by the d...

Taking a break from my latest series on native & indigenous Italian grapes . ♪ They've all come to look for America ♪ W hat c...

I nside my office there is a closet, a ramshackle affair, with whatever I haven’t yet figured out how to deal with. On the middle shelf th...

Dino Illuminati, me and Daniele Spinelli,- 30 years ago W ithout a doubt, the one indigenous Italian white that I have the most experien...

A rneis is an indigenous grape variety found in Piedmont that is enjoying a wave of popularity in this moment. Many people are discovering...

I first encountered La Monacesca in the late 1980’s – My friends Eugenio Spinozzi and Sam Levitus (partners in Tricana) imported it into th...