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Loving Italian Wine (in the Time of Coronavirus)

Mike Madaio
Features
3 min read
Anyone who has followed my wine writing, even casually, will know that obscurity is my passion. The weirder, the better. I recently, for example, wrote a book about a winemaking area of Pennsylvania that thrived in the 1800s. And about a year ago, here on PP, I covered my favorite

(Re)Discovering Sagrantino

Elisabetta Tosi
Features
5 min read
I still remember my first Sagrantino wine. It was a relatively rare Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito. And I found it to be a very tannic sweet red wine -- hard to drink for someone who was used to the gentle silkiness of my native Recioto della Valpolicella. Fast forward a
umbrian brown lentils

Lentils Worth Loving

Mike Madaio
Features
3 min read
“What’s for dinner?” asks my wife, as she’s wont to do. “Lentils,” I reply. Though she attempts to hide it, I can see in her eyes she’s crestfallen. “With sausage,” I add hastily. Later, though, at the table, she’s eating heartily. I cautiously request a verdict. “Much better than I
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On Going Back

Mike Madaio
Features
2 min read
Recently I visited Italy’s Marche region for the first time. The landscape in this tiny, unheralded area of the boot is astounding. To the west, the steeper eastern slopes of the Apennines bear down, while the gentle Adriatic eclipses the horizon to the east. Upon rounding each hair-raising turn on

Porcaccia di Montefalco

Mike Madaio
Features
2 min read
I was surfing aimlessly through Facebook, just like any other day, when a particular image caught my eye... for, well, obvious reasons, once you see it below. It appeared to be called "porcaccia," which, although I was unfamiliar with the word (and Facebook was unable to translate correctly), must have,
scacciadiavoli estate

A Light Lunch at Scacciadiavoli

Mike Madaio
Features
4 min read
Upon receiving the itinerary for our wine tour of Montefalco, the following entry immediately jumps out: 12:00 - Visit, tasting, and light lunch at winery Scacciadiavoli. Light lunch? In Umbria? Though my skepticism runs rampant, I’m intrigued to discover what might await us. In anticipation, we breakfast in traditional Italian