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Wining Hour Feature: Tenute Rubino Oltremé
Spending time in Italy exploring the many grape varieties is always a pleasure. I was able to spend some time in the south, in Puglia, and get acquainted with some of the region’s native grapes. However, it was at home in NY where I had the opportunity to taste a rare, ancient grape variety, Susumaniello. This month’s feature is the unique Tenute Rubino Oltremé. The region of Puglia, or Apulia is known as the “heel of the boot” located in Southeastern Italy. Puglia’s mediterranean climate and suitably fertile soils are ideal for grape cultivation. Soils in southern Puglia are mainly calcareous sandy-clays over a limestone sub-soil. When one thinks of…
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A Wining Hour…at Sea!
There are two things I love: wine and water. I enjoy boating and cruising every chance I get. I also enjoy wine education and wine tasting. When you combine being in, on or near the water and wine…well, that just takes the cake! While this is something I do regularly, I recently had a very interesting ‘wining (wine-ing) hour at sea.’ A few weeks ago, I boarded a cruise with my favorite company, Norwegian Cruise Line. Norwegian Cruise Line is not just my favorite. In fact, the World Travel Awards named NCL a leading cruise line for 9 years in a row. So, while in Europe, I cruised along the…
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Wining Hour Feature: Friuli Wines of Attems Estate
Italy produces some remarkable white wines, especially the white wines produced in the northern Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. In fact, Friuli is considered to be the very birthplace of modern Italian white winemaking. This month, I am featuring two delightful white wines from Attems Estate in Friuli: Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. Friuli Venezia Giulia is Italy’s north-easternmost region. It borders Austria, Slovenia, Veneto and the Adriatic Sea. The region has diverse climates, as it ranges from warm (due to Adriatic Sea breezes) to mild and Alpine. The terrain is equally diverse, composed of mountains, hills and coastal plains. Naturally then, there is a variety of soils. In…
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Wining Hour Feature: Tenuta Sette Cieli
As we know, some of the best wines in all of Italy come from the Tuscan wine region. We may be familiar with the wines of Montalcino, Chianti, Carmignano, San Gimignano, Montelpuciano, Giglio or wines from the Maremma. Then, in the western coast of Tuscany…there’s Bolgheri. This month, I am featuring two beautiful Super Tuscan wines from Tenuta Sette Cieli: Indaco and Scipio. Tenuta Sette Cieli, or Seven Skies Estate, is a boutique winery located between Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci on the west coast of Tuscany. The estate, owned by the Ratti family, sits on 173 acres and is 1300 meters above the Tyrrhenian sea level. Needless to say, the…
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Flavorful, Flexible and Fun Frappato
As Italy has over 550 grape varietals, it has been a fun journey trying to explore each one. In fact, it has been said that you can try a new or different grape variety each day of the year, and there will still be some varieties left undiscovered! Wine is produced in each of Italy’s 20 regions, which is quite remarkable. Today, we are going to head south to the Island of Sicily and take a closer look at the grape known as Frappato. Do you know Frappato? Frappato or Frappato di Vittoria is a red wine grape grown primarily in South-eastern Sicily in the town of Vittoria, province of…
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