Blog Archives
Beautiful Label, Beautiful Wine (Again) from Donnafugata
I love love love wine labels. Mostly because I had to sell/see so many bottles with crap ones. There is a winery in Sicily that always impresses me with what’s inside and outside the bottle. The Donnafugata Floramundi carries on that tradition. Perhaps you may remember Donnafugata from such bottles with great labels as Anthìlia, a [More]
Getting to Know Nocera: A Visit to Sicily’s Capo Milazzo
One of the delights of Sicily, and Italy in general, is the sheer amount of unfamiliar wine grapes you come across. This was no exception while on a media trip with Palm Bay International to visit all six of Planeta‘s properties on the island. My first full day introduced me to the Nocera (No-CHAIR-a) grape, [More]
Around Sicily in Four Days: Preview My Planeta Wine Journey
A quick post to let you know that I am headed back to Sicily. As I’ve said before, when it comes to wine there is no place more exciting than Sicily right now. I’m traveling there on a media trip with Palm Bay International to visit the properties of Planeta. Here’s where I’ll be: La Beronia, [More]
Exploring Mount Etna Wines via Planeta
Is there a more exciting wine region in the world right now than Sicily? And, within this island, anything cooler than what’s happening in the area surrounding Mount Etna? No. It was a pleasure to be invited to a lunch given by Planeta, whose six wineries ring Sicily. Our special guest was Alessio Planeta and our focus [More]
Sweet Wine from Sicily: The Scintillating Donnafugata Ben Ryé
I may retire the phrase “dessert wine” on this blog. Because it compartmentalizes a wine like the Donnafugata Ben Ryé to occasions when dining out and ordering something sweet to eat at the end of the meal. Don’t get me wrong, I love dessert and have nothing but respect for pastry chefs. (I actually did an internship [More]
Frappato From Sicily: A Great Dinner Red Wine
Confession: I mostly drink white wine when I’m relaxing after work. Red wine is pretty much confined to when I go out to dinner. But that might be changing because every glass made from Frappato, a red grape native to Sicily, makes me crave more, often. You might recall Frappato as a grape that’s part [More]
Mount Etna Wines: What Makes Them So Special?
I’m crazy for bottles from Sicily and especially Mount Etna wines. The reds are primarily made from the Nerello Mascalese grape; the white wines are mostly Carricante. Tasting these wines (and even some rosé and sparkling!) while on Vulcano Island attending “Sicilia en Primeur” as a media guest last year was one of many vinous [More]
International Versus Indigenous Wine Grapes: The Case of Sicily
What gets you to explore wines made from unfamiliar grapes? How do you discover something new? Sicily is an interesting case as an island full of indigenous grapes as well as plenty of wine made from non-native, better-known grapes like Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Syrah. I had these questions in mind when I conducted a phone [More]
