If you ask an experienced winelover, “What are the greatest Italian red wines?” It’s likely their reply would be, “Barolo, Brunello and Amarone!” But how many people can say they have sampled Amarone? Barolo is the celebrated Piedmontese wine made with Nebbiolo grapes. Brunello is made with Tuscan sangiovese grapes. Read More
I went to Valpolicella to learn about the region's most expensive, highly regarded wine: Amarone. Made from dried grapes, this wine is hotter than ever and the Italian press now gathers annually to taste new Amarone releases. I tagged along, hoping to discover what I have been missing. Instead, I Read More
Even if they've drunk it before, most everyone experiences a serious first encounter with wine – one moment when you know you’ve really latched onto something magical. When I escaped Appalachia after college, the people I associated with, first academics and journalists, then corporate types, mainly drank cocktails, starting at Read More
What do a fine wine and a good perfume have in common? Exactly: the olfactory element. Why does this matter? Because our sense of smell can put us in contact with our deepest and most personal life experiences -- as if we all were new Prousts seeking individual Madeleine moments. Read More
Laura Albertini, young owner of the small winery Terre di Pietra (mentioned in my recent column on this year’s Amarone tastings), passed away suddenly on the first of March, 2017. Married to Cristiano Saletti and the mother of two children, Anna and Alice (pictured above), Laura was just 36 years Read More
For true wine lovers, appreciating the rich, decadent Amarone della Valpolicella is almost a given (despite W. Blake Gray's opinion). In fact, 11% of all the Amarone sold abroad ends up in American wine glasses. Concentrated and wonderful, long-aged and long-lived, Amarone is created in Italy’s Veneto region by intensifying Read More
I went to Valpolicella to learn about the region's most expensive, highly regarded wine: Amarone. Made from dried grapes, this wine is hotter than ever and the Italian press now gathers annually to taste new Amarone releases. I tagged along, hoping to discover what I have been missing. Instead, I Read More
If you were asked to name three or four Italian wines that are the most highly respected all over the world, I bet most of you would include Amarone della Valpolicella. This red wine made with dried grapes has been appreciated by wine lovers forever, but its popularity has shot up Read More