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wine tasting – GT Food & Travel
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GT Food & Travel

Tag: wine tasting

  • Wine Tasting Basics

    Wine Tasting Basics

    Have you ever attended a professional wine tasting? Not all tastings are the same but often the wine color is noted, the wine swirled, noses sniff into the glass and tasters proclaim “strawberries, raspberries, roses ” all before they taste the wine. Puzzled onlookers may wonder what’s in that glass?

    I can’t help but think of my 80-year-old cousin Rocco. He drinks sweet red jug wine. He’s one of the most happy-go-lucky people I know. He sat across from me at a wine tasting in Sicily bewildered and confused, as I observed the color of the wine and proceeded to swirl, sniff, taste and spit (not ingested) my wine. Neither the color of the wine nor the nose entered into his wine appreciation equation.Planetawineglasses

    I don’t use wine vocabulary like nose, tannin and acidity to confound or confuse readers although my editor at theAmerican may not believe me. Wine knowledge and terminology do not equal wine pleasure. There are no rights or wrongs in wine appreciation. It’s subjective.

    Enough said. This month I am happy to share 3 steps to wine tasting on theAmerican. Now grab a glass of your favorite sparkling, red or white wine, bring a clear nose and open mind. Enjoy!

  • Wines of Campania

    Wines of Campania

    IMG_5909Last month I had a blast learning more about the wines of Campania and writing Part I for The American|InItalia in ‘Campania Awakens, I’. It all started thanks to a gorgeous group of clients. They insist on delving into the wines of a different region each time they visit Italy. We’ve visited Basilicata and Puglia in the past. This year Campania was on deck as they we’re heading to the Amalfi Coast. Our pre-trip ritual includes  a relaxing meal in Rome where we discuss the region, vineyards and wines we’re about to sample and we put our pairings to the test. As a frequent visitor to Naples and the Amalfi Coast, I usually drink natural wines and highly-rated DOCG wines – crisp whites such as Fiano d’Avellino and bold reds like Aglianico del Taburno. IMG_0704 (1)In our pre-trip dinner, I knew it would be futile to attempt to jam in all the region’s wine zones in a single chat. There are too many diverse areas to cover. Instead, in Part I, we focused our travels on Campania’s less-mentioned coastal areas, Capri, Vesuvius, Paestum and Cilento. These areas are most often remembered for the sea, archaeological sites and mozzarella di bufala cheese but each has a highly specific wine history to discover.IMG_1297In Part II, we headed inland to the southern end of the Apennine Mountain range and the unique territory of Irpina where temperatures get quite chilly. It’s not surprising given that vineyards sit up to 1900 feet above sea level. These elevations combined with temperatures that fluctuate greatly throughout the year can be quite trying. How does this affect the glass of Fiano that we’re about to taste? To find out continue reading ‘Campania awakens, II‘.

  • Puglia Wine Discovery

    Puglia Wine Discovery

    I’d been meaning to visit Puglia for years. Its raw beauty, fabulous beaches, crystalline sea and uncomplicated food like burrata cheese, orecchiette pasta with turnip tops and grilled fish make it a destination for beach, food and wine lovers alike. Reading that half of Italy’s olive oil is produced in Puglia and that Puglia produces more wine than any other Italian region didn’t quite prepare me for what I’d see on our three-day August family escape. As we drove across the Pugliese border my eyes were drawn to the whitewashed flat-roofed houses, the sea and seemingly endless olive groves littered with gnarly thick trunked trees and curved grapevines. Greece came to mind.On this trip, my brother-in-law and I — he’s a sommelier — decided to shake things up a tiny bit by seeking out and trying some more obscure Pugliese wines. Part of the joy of wine is discovering new ones, and for wine-lovers learning means tasting. A tasting in a relaxed setting among friends and family can be a memorable occasion. Setting aside Negroamaro and Primitivo, for a list of four local wines (two whites and two reds) well worth discovering take a look at my “Southern Gems“.Puglia_grisola

     

     

     

  • The King of Lazio Red Wine – Cesanese

    The King of Lazio Red Wine – Cesanese

    When I share a meal with family and friends, I often ask them which Italian wine they like best. Many will mention a red from Tuscany, most likely a “super Tuscan,” a 1980s term for Tuscan red blend that uses wine grapes not indigenous to Italy, including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.cesaneseWhen I suggest a wine from Lazio dazed and confused faces abound, never mind the eyebrow raising glares when I utter the red wine grape Cesanese. Lazio does have some identity problems. It’s a somewhat indistinct central region that has long been overshadowed by more renowned neighbors Campania, Tuscany and Umbria. Even visitors to Rome don’t always know that Lazio is the region that Rome calls home. Rome’s importance as the capital make it feel like an oasis in the desert, a landlocked island enclosed by the Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA), the ring road/highway that encircles Rome. Just a short ride beyond the motorway lie rolling hills speckled with olive groves, orchards and vineyards and land of the antique grape variety Cesanese. ciolli

    Continue reading about Cesanese and Lazio vineyards here.

     

     

  • Italian Adventure

    Italian Adventure

    My italian adventure began nearly 8 years ago. I packed my bags for 3 months to see if I could make it in Italy. Coming from NYC, I left with Frank Sinatra’s voice singing “if I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere…” after all if I made it in NYC 3 times over why not Rome? Despite its own unique set of challenges, I launched GT Food & Travel more than 2 years ago with the intention of expanding beyond Rome. Today, I’m happy to share the next chapter of my italian adventure  Casa Mia | Italy Food & Wine Tours. I’ve teamed up with two food professionals and friends, Elizabeth and Eleonora, to create Casa Mia, a food & wine association. casamiaOur association offers unique, local culinary experiences including food walks, wine tastings, cooking classes and in-home dining in and around Rome, Naples, Florence and Sicily with a very personal touch hence the name “Casa Mia”! GT Food & Travel will continue to offer group food tours and wine tastings in Rome, custom designed tours and dining itineraries as well as corporate event planning.

    ele_G 20140905-elizabeth

    So, all you food lovers out there planning an Italy vacation, be sure to check out the new website: Casa Mia | Italy Food and Wine Tours for private tours and our Blog for Italy travel inspiration, savvy advice and exciting food & wine adventures.

    Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, YouTube and Google+ plus don’t forget to subscribe to our e-Newsletter to stay up to date on upcoming news and events. And tell your friends!
  • Nyawa Funding Group (NFG) One Year Later

    Nyawa Funding Group (NFG) One Year Later

    This post has little to do with Italy, travel, food or wine. I lead Italian wine tastings when I visit the U.S.. One year ago, I led an Italian wine tasting at the Nyawa Funding Group (NFG) fundraiser. NFG is a non-profit company that tackles measurable and achievable projects in Sierra Leone. Before presenting the wines, I listened to Jason Lamin, the NFG Chairman and President tell a heartfelt and personal story. He spoke of childhood memories in Sierra Leone where he lived until 13 years of age. He described a return visit to the village where his family lived. Deeply saddened by the suffering and poverty that he witnessed, he was determined to make a difference. Thus was born Nyawa Funding Group.

    JasonLamin

    One year ago thanks to generous donations, NFG was able to not only repair the only ambulance available to transport children to Sierra Leone’s only pediatric center but also provide the hospital with a reasonable maintenance fund for the ambulance, blankets, gloves, masks and more.

    One year later Ebola has landed in Sierra Leone. The need for help has grown greater. NFG has launched a new fundraising project to make certain the hospital has all the equipment needed to be properly sanitized and prepared to help their patients. GT Food & Travel will donate 10% of all December earnings to NFG. A dollar goes a long way in Sierra Leone. No amount is too small. Please share this message.

    NFG-CHILDNFG is a registered 501(c)(3). You can get more information on the NFG website.


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