Sunday, October 22, 2017
The 2017 Harvest in Umbria and Tuscany - Fear and "Global Weirding" - Pt.III
"What do you get when you fall in love? A guy with a pin to burst your bubble."
There are parts of Tuscany that evade Brunello and Chianti Classico’s snares. They don’t get the attention, and sometimes the respect, but nonetheless, people set up their vineyards, their castles and their dreams in these places. After all, it is Tuscany, how bad can it be?
Sunday, October 15, 2017
America Under Fire: An Open Letter to the Italian Wine Community
Click here NOW to donate and have your donation matched - SGWS CA Wildfire Relief Fund
Caro amici e colleghi,
It seems every Sunday terrible news comes from America. And lately yes, it has been one disruption after another. From floods in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Puerto Rico, to fires in California, the country of my birth has been travailed upon in the most severe terms. And that is just the acts of God, not to mention the hand of man, which has challenged our notion of democracy, liberty, equality and justice. Suffice it to say, on the social and political end of things here in America, we are in a virtual civil war. From the carnage in Las Vegas of concert goers to the massacres of little children in their schools, our civility and our moral core is faltering. And through this, families and friends who no longer talk to one another, for we are a nation of passion and opinion. We are also a young nation, showing our folly for all the world to see.
It seems every Sunday terrible news comes from America. And lately yes, it has been one disruption after another. From floods in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Puerto Rico, to fires in California, the country of my birth has been travailed upon in the most severe terms. And that is just the acts of God, not to mention the hand of man, which has challenged our notion of democracy, liberty, equality and justice. Suffice it to say, on the social and political end of things here in America, we are in a virtual civil war. From the carnage in Las Vegas of concert goers to the massacres of little children in their schools, our civility and our moral core is faltering. And through this, families and friends who no longer talk to one another, for we are a nation of passion and opinion. We are also a young nation, showing our folly for all the world to see.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
"I have no words..." - Calling on our global wine community to support Tony and Lisa McClung's Napa Fire Rebuild fund
Click here NOW to support Tony and Lisa McClung's Napa Fire Rebuild fund (organized by Claire Casey Brandani)
The world is filled with sorrow. But when it hits home, it hits home. One of our Italian trail-mates lost his home this week in the Napa fires, which are still raging. Tony McClung and his wife Lisa and their two young daughters lost most of their worldly material belongings, car and home.
Tony wrote this on his face book page along with the video above:
I managed to make it into our neighborhood yesterday, it was heartbreaking. Our house was completely destroyed along with 10 of our neighbor’s homes. A firefighter still on the scene said the fire came in very fast and very hot. Ash is all that is left. We were only in this house for 2 1/2 years but they will remain great memories in my mind.
Thank you to the many friends that have called and text during the fires, I wish it were better news. Thank you to the local friends for the physical and mental support. My community far and wide fills my heart.
It was a house... my home will always be wherever my family is together... we are together and safe.
Tony hails from Houston. And he is a dear friend of many of us in the wine trade. Natalie Vaclavik said it best:
When Houston was hit by Harvey, the first person to call to support was Tony McClung, his generosity & acts of kindness have been so instrumental in helping our city rebuild.
Today he lost everything. His house is gone and all his family's belongings were destroyed in the Napa Fire. Let's band together to help his family rebuild as he has helped us as fellow Houstonians.
People always ask "what can I do to help," directly making change is the way to impact. You probably don't know Tony but just giving the smallest donation can help build a new future for his family.
Please – here is something you can do directly to help someone with a face, a family and an urgent need.
Click here NOW to support Tony and Lisa McClung's Napa Fire Rebuild fund (organized by Claire Casey Brandani)
The world is filled with sorrow. But when it hits home, it hits home. One of our Italian trail-mates lost his home this week in the Napa fires, which are still raging. Tony McClung and his wife Lisa and their two young daughters lost most of their worldly material belongings, car and home.
Tony wrote this on his face book page along with the video above:
I managed to make it into our neighborhood yesterday, it was heartbreaking. Our house was completely destroyed along with 10 of our neighbor’s homes. A firefighter still on the scene said the fire came in very fast and very hot. Ash is all that is left. We were only in this house for 2 1/2 years but they will remain great memories in my mind.
Thank you to the many friends that have called and text during the fires, I wish it were better news. Thank you to the local friends for the physical and mental support. My community far and wide fills my heart.
It was a house... my home will always be wherever my family is together... we are together and safe.
Tony hails from Houston. And he is a dear friend of many of us in the wine trade. Natalie Vaclavik said it best:
When Houston was hit by Harvey, the first person to call to support was Tony McClung, his generosity & acts of kindness have been so instrumental in helping our city rebuild.
Today he lost everything. His house is gone and all his family's belongings were destroyed in the Napa Fire. Let's band together to help his family rebuild as he has helped us as fellow Houstonians.
People always ask "what can I do to help," directly making change is the way to impact. You probably don't know Tony but just giving the smallest donation can help build a new future for his family.
Please – here is something you can do directly to help someone with a face, a family and an urgent need.
written by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy
wine blog + Italian wine blog + Italy W
Sunday, October 08, 2017
The Navelgazer’s Last Tour of Italy
Swept away by an apoplectic American destiny in a red plane in October
One more time, I’m on a plane going from Rome, Italy to America, and the young Gen-Z narcissist sitting next to me is being a dick. The latest generation of Ugly American to emerge from this isolated piece of land, which for the last 100 or so years has dominated the world’s attention. He and his family just spent a vacation in Italy. They bought the posters, bought the t-shirts (probably also bought the coffee mugs) and now he couldn’t wait to get home and see if his Buffalo Bills won or lost. This is going to be one helluva long flight…
 |
| Nothing above me, nothing below me - So I jump off |
Sunday, October 01, 2017
The 2017 Harvest in Umbria and Tuscany - Fear and "Global Weirding" - Pt.II
Chianti Classico - O Brother, Where Art Thou?
We’re all struggling to seek, explain and unfold Chianti Classico in today’s world. Not a “cool” wine in the wine world, though a wine that millions of people know and love – hence the Catch-22 moment we find ourselves in.
And as well, our crew found ourselves within the Chianti Classico zone on a recent pass through Umbria and Tuscany. Here’s what we found at a few “classic” estates.
And as well, our crew found ourselves within the Chianti Classico zone on a recent pass through Umbria and Tuscany. Here’s what we found at a few “classic” estates.
Sunday, September 24, 2017
How do you solve a problem like Maremma?
But there is a problem with spiked-up Super Tuscans today: they’ve become collector’s items for the super wealthy, locked away in secret cellars, occasionally resurfacing on an auction block in Hong Kong, London or New York. Some have gotten far removed from the emerging tastes of the upcoming generation (and those whose palates have evolved towards wines with less volume). They’ve become Bubble Boys, living in their own rarified orb.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
The 2017 Harvest in Umbria and Tuscany - Fear and "Global Weirding" - Pt.I
This year marks a cycle of sorts for this observer. Moved by the floods of 1966, I made my way to Florence five years later. In the summer of 1971 there were still signs of a deluge of Biblical proportions which ravaged the largest town in Tuscany. I spent days walking the narrow streets, huddled in the cool galleries of museums, and sampling the food and wine, on the streets. I fell in love every ten minutes.
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Thank You, Italy
Echoes from the archives - Posted Nov 24, 2011
1) Thank you for the wonderful variety of your sparkling wines, especially the ones from Lombardia, Trentino and the Veneto. Franciacorta is a delicious wine for food, for pleasure and for more than just special occasions. Thank you for not thinking you have to be Champagne and forging ahead with your own sparkling destinies.
2) Thank you for the bright and mineral rich white wines of the Alto Adige and Friuli. I love your whites, whether it be Sauvignon or Kerner, Friulano or Sylvaner.
3) Thank you for the fruit driven Montepulciano wines from Abruzzo. For many of us who cut our teeth on field blends from California, Montepulciano is a taste that hearkens back to the roots of many of us reared in the West. And thank you when you let Montepulciano be Montepulciano; not Cabernet, Merlot or Pinot Noir.
1) Thank you for the wonderful variety of your sparkling wines, especially the ones from Lombardia, Trentino and the Veneto. Franciacorta is a delicious wine for food, for pleasure and for more than just special occasions. Thank you for not thinking you have to be Champagne and forging ahead with your own sparkling destinies.
2) Thank you for the bright and mineral rich white wines of the Alto Adige and Friuli. I love your whites, whether it be Sauvignon or Kerner, Friulano or Sylvaner.
3) Thank you for the fruit driven Montepulciano wines from Abruzzo. For many of us who cut our teeth on field blends from California, Montepulciano is a taste that hearkens back to the roots of many of us reared in the West. And thank you when you let Montepulciano be Montepulciano; not Cabernet, Merlot or Pinot Noir.
Sunday, September 03, 2017
As you age does your taste in wine change?
Echoes from the archives - Posted May 20, 2012
That was the question I posed on a Facebook months ago. I have been thinking about it for some time now, and doing active research.
In my life, I have to say, my tastes have ranged all across the board, like waves of appreciation. For a while I would taste all the Bordeaux reds I could get my hands on. And I developed a taste for them. But my diet, which ranges from low to no red meat, really doesn’t complement them. I also was into Rhone reds as well, and again, aside from the occasional spicy chicken on the grill or holiday repast, I found them hard to take on a regular basis. Not that I didn’t like them, it was more that I just didn’t have a lifestyle where these wines fit on a regular basis.
That was the question I posed on a Facebook months ago. I have been thinking about it for some time now, and doing active research.
In my life, I have to say, my tastes have ranged all across the board, like waves of appreciation. For a while I would taste all the Bordeaux reds I could get my hands on. And I developed a taste for them. But my diet, which ranges from low to no red meat, really doesn’t complement them. I also was into Rhone reds as well, and again, aside from the occasional spicy chicken on the grill or holiday repast, I found them hard to take on a regular basis. Not that I didn’t like them, it was more that I just didn’t have a lifestyle where these wines fit on a regular basis.
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