Posts Tagged ‘Italy’

The Sardinian Festival of “Mamuthones e Issohadores”

by Tom Wolf Every winter, in the remote Sardinian mountain village of Mamoiada, twenty men transform into the mysterious, masked, and pagan Mamuthones and Issohadores. It’s the day of Saint Anthony the Abbot—patron saint of animals and swineherds, among others—and the Mamuthones are wearing black handmade masks, brown fur, and 50 pounds of cowbells on their […]

Exploring Sardinia

by Kermit Lynch Last November with Gail and Anthony, I visited Sardinia for the first time. We landed in Cagliari in the south. So should you. If you are anything like me, you’ll enjoy the pace, the ambience, the quality of life. There are no tourist attractions like the Louvre or the Tour Eiffel, so, […]

Eloro?

THE SICILIAN WINES OF RIOFAVARA by Anthony Lynch You are likely unfamiliar with this wine zone of southeast Sicily, just outside the hilltop town of Ispica and its stunning Baroque architecture. More likely you know its star grape variety, Nero d’Avola. While it can be found all over Sicily, Nero d’Avola takes on another dimension […]

A Night on the Town with Marco Tintero

by Anthony Lynch Meeting Marco Tintero for the first time, several years ago at his winery in the Piedmont town of Mango, proved an exciting event for me. A longtime drinker—guzzler, if we’re being honest—of his humbly priced frizzanti, I had long looked forward to getting to know the man behind them. And Marco did […]

Sesti

by Anthony Lynch In 1975, when Giuseppe Sesti purchased the hilltop ruins of the Castello di Argiano in the southern part of the Brunello di Montalcino zone, the local wine had yet to achieve the international prestige it enjoys today. Production methods tended toward the rustic, and very few estates bottled the deeply colored, rich […]

Introducing La Marca di San Michele

VERDICCHIO FROM LE MARCHE AT ITS FINEST by Dixon Brooke The little village of Cupramontana, perched high in the hills of Italy’s Le Marche region, within view of the Adriatic Sea to the east and the Apennine Mountains to the west, is the birthplace of this young, exciting estate. Founded by the children of an […]

Farmers’ Markets

Room to Improve? by Kermit Lynch   I brag to French friends about Berkeley’s farmers’ market: how great the quality is, what a large selection of organic produce it features, and that vendors here really are farmers—dear Annabelle Lenderink, for example. The growth of farmers’ markets in this country is amazing. For that luxury I […]

November Newsletter: Annual Champagne Sale, Grand Cru Alsace, Brunello

The November Newsletter is now available. Click here to download the pdf. Highlights from this month’s newsletter… CHAMPAGNE A NEW ERA by Anthony Lynch Times are changing in the Champagne world. From its chalky fields to the cool, dim cellars below, producers are rethinking their approach to the storied bubbly, aided by advances in viticulture […]

Liguria

By Anthony Lynch We love Liguria. The region’s joyous charm is evidenced by its lively wines, delicious creations that speak to an ancient history of grape-growing on steep slopes overlooking irresistible Mediterranean waters. This tradition lives on through the Ruffino family of Punta Crena: Tommaso makes the wine, his brother Paolo sells it, their combined […]

Introducing Davide Vignato, Domaine Pierre Guillemot, Mighty Alsace

The August Newsletter is now available. Click here to download the pdf. Highlights from this month’s newsletter… INTRODUCING DAVIDE VIGNATO by Dixon Brooke I am so grateful for having discovered this obscure region, in the volcanic basalt hills east of Soave in northern Italy’s Veneto. I have always loved Venetian whites made from the Garganega […]