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Twenty-odd years ago, in a small café in western Milan, I asked a waiter for the wine list. He simply said, “Non carte di vini, solo rosso e bianco,” and on speaking that last word, he winced and slowly shook his head. As if to say, “Forget the white.” Today, if I asked 1,000 American wine consumers to describe an Italian wine, probably 700 would s...

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When it comes to looking for red wines with moderate-level alcohol with finesse and restraint, the Prosecco wine area is probably the last place in Europe that one might consider. Prosecco, known for the sparkling wine made by the semi-aromatic grape variety called Glera that is sourced in designated areas of Veneto, Italy, is extremely popular and...

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What makes a wine French, or American or Spanish? Attributing national characteristics is a murky business, with one significant exception. Regardless of where they come from, the red wines of Italy often bear a similar signature: great acidity and sweet fruit or floral aromas and flavors, tempered by a refreshing bitterness that sets up the next s...

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Chicago’s oldest wine bar, Geja’s Café, perfectly nestled at 340 W. Armitage Ave, is welcoming the upcoming fall season with the debut of its three-month wine festival Giro d’Italia, beginning Sunday, September 1st through Saturday, November 30th. Throughout these three months, wine enthusiasts of all calibers will have the opportunity to enjoy sel...

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In a world where the global wine industry swings wildly from positive to negative and back again, it's nice to see one country bullish about the future. Italy is riding a wave of renewed interest, with others welcoming its wines into the marketplace. At a time when we see increasing fragmentation, Italian producers are happy to pull on the metaphor...

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When thinking of Italian food, it is the color red that dominates people’s imagination, tomato sauce and red wine being the first delicacies to come to mind. In truth, and we all sort of know it already, there is much more to Italy’s cuisine than that and, also, there is much more to Italian wines than a bottle of red.  Italy is home to delicate, r...

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The Little Italy Arkansas Heritage Society will host a grand opening of its new museum in northwestern Pulaski County (33615 Highway 300, Roland, Arkansas 72135) on Sunday, September 15 from 12-5 p.m. The event will include guided tours, live music, authentic Italian foods and refreshments from Little Italy's only operating winery, An Enchanting Ev...

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The history of Villa Matilde began in the 1960s, when Francesco Paolo Avallone, a lawyer with a passion for ancient wines and an abiding interest in the “vinum Falernum” described in the accounts of Pliny and in the poetry of Virgil, Martial, and Horace, decided to bring back to life that legendary wine. It had disappeared in the early 20th century...

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A couple weeks ago I attended a Masters class in Boston hosted by the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico and led by Jeff Porter.  It was a horizontal tasting discussing the diversity of Chianti Classico and its 9 communes including: San Casciano in Val di Pesa; Tavarnelle Val di Pesa; Barberino Val d’Elsa; Poggibonsi; Greve in Chianti; Castellare in C...

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Throughout its 100-year history, Glen Rock, New Jersey-based Opici Group has been involved in every facet of the wine business. Today the company is an importer, a producer, and a distributor. Its supplier arm, Opici Wines, has a portfolio of 35 wine brands and eight spirits labels, which total roughly 700,000 cases and $40 million in annual revenu...

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