The Wining Hour Summer Wine Down

Ok, ok. I know it’s been a while. This summer has been chock-full of events (both personal and business), as well as lots of travel. Basically, my summer has been non-stop! Nevertheless, as summer is winding down, I thought it would be a good time to jump back in and share a few Wining Hour highlights with you. 

Events & Happenings

Great Wines of the World NYC Tasting

James’s Suckling’s (NY) Great Wines of the World is a two-day walk-around tasting that affords the opportunity to literally discover and taste some of the best wines in the world! The event features over 35 of the best wine-growing areas and more than 400+ wines to taste! The majority of the wines are rated 92-100 points, with many achieving scores of 95 points or higher from James Suckling himself. Check out the list of producers! 

From Ash to Ashes Book Launch Party

When your friend writes a book, it’s definitely something to celebrate! I attended the launch party and signing for From Ash to Ashes, a novel by Krishma Tuli Arora in Long Island, NY to celebrate the release of her first book! From Ash to Ashes shares the compelling story of tragedy, romance, cultural differences, societal pressures, assimilation and family dynamics, as experienced by a young immigrant woman, Mira and her family. A real page-turner. Grab From Ash to Ashes now!  Learn more about the author on Instagram @Krishmawrites

Launch Party for Appetito Magazine

Co-founders, Andrew Cotto and Richard Martin bring us Appetito: Italian Food & Drink, which is an online magazine dedicated to Italian food & drink. I had the pleasure of attending the launch party for Appetito at Song E Napule Pizzeria & Trattoria in NY. This launch also marked the expansion of Song E Napule’s presence on W. Houston Street, as well as Appetito co-founder Andrew Cotto‘s 55th birthday. Good food, good wine and good company-it was a successful celebration and launch indeed!

Hello Grappa Tasting

While I was familiar with Grappa, the Italian spirit typically used to aid digestion, I was not aware of its versatility. I attended a Grappa seminar and tasting hosted by Allison Levine, of Please the Palate, at the awesome Dutch Freds in New York. The award-winning bartender, Francesco Dionese, led an entertaining and informative seminar on the history, production/aging methods and different styles of Grappa. This was followed by a tasting of three expressions of Grappa, as well as some innovative Grappa cocktails.

Italian (Puglia) Summer Wine Dinner

This was a most enjoyable Wining Hour! I enjoyed an intimate  Italian Summer Dinner at Ciao Evento, hosted by Daniela Porro of Colangelo PR. Tenute Rubino was established in the early 1980’s, and it manifests a family’s deep love for their land (Puglia) and its rediscovery, specifically for the Susumaniello grape. The menu was inspired by authentic Apulian cuisine and was paired with beautiful Italian wines from Tenute Rubino.

Gavi World Tasting

“Gavi’s Got a New Groove: The Queen of Piedmont is Growing for the Better” was the theme of this Gavi seminar delivered by Lars Leicht of the SOMMJournal. I learned more about the region of production, the different soils and the production methods. This seminar at the Midtown Loft & Terrace, sponsored by the Consorzio Tutela del Gavi, gave me the opportunity to taste over 40 Gavi DOCG labels as well as discover all the nuances of this beautiful white wine from the Piedmont region of northern Italy. 

Other events included concerts, anniversaries, graduations and reunions. Oh my!

Travel

As you may guess, a large part of my travel involved the Italian peninsula. Here’s just a few of the towns/cities I visited:

My travels also brought me to Coastal Spain and Portugal

Ok…so we couldn’t leave out the south of France…it only made sense.

Then…I somehow found myself galavanting through Central America…in Belize, Honduras and Mexico.

Summer is definitely a great time to take a break from social media, to reconnect with family and friends and to recharge. This summer, in particular, brought about a lot of challenges due to the extreme temperatures in the US and Europe. However, it was delightful! Nevertheless, summer is ending and it is time to get back to work. Stay tuned for more from The Wining Hour….