Lamberto Frescobaldi Experience the World of Brunello with an unforgettable, intimate dinner with Marchese Lamberto Frescobaldi, President of Tenuta CastelGiocondo – one of Tuscany’s most storied estates, owned by one of Italy’s most revered wine families. Join us Tuesday, October 24 at 7pm at Aria, 25 York St., Toronto. An evening built for true wine lovers and foodies, the Marchese Lamberto Frescobaldi will lead guests through an intimate and engaging, 5-course, wine-paired dinner. Wines to include the debut of Frescobaldi’s new rosé, a Rosso di Montalcino, a vertical flight of three Brunello di Montalcino vintages, and Frescobaldi’s premium top-tier, single […]
Sicilian Wine
Andrea Franchetti: Mountain Wine Between Stone and Cloud
Continued from Part 3: Etna Wine The next morning, I drive farther up the mountain along a narrow, vertiginous lane called Passopisciaro or “fishmonger’s road.” It was originally named after a seaman who used to sell his catch here on sunny afternoons. He charmed his female customers, generously offering them his services in addition to the seafood. Eventually, their husbands banded together and killed him. Most of Andrea Franchetti’s wines are labeled Passopisciaro, but his customers are safely scattered around the world. In 2001, having spent ten years in Tuscany making wines that received rave reviews, Andrea decided to buy […]
Marco de Grazia: Coaxing Wine from Contradiction (and Lava)
Part 2: Sicily’s Volcanic Wines Sicily is also known as mezzogiorno, “the land of the midday sun”—and of the midday nap. This April afternoon is so warm that I decide to take la pausa before my next visit. I love that notion of an afternoon pause: it doesn’t sound lazy, just meditative. I retreat to my dark hotel room and flop on the cool bed sheets, mesmerized by my ceiling fan as its breeze evaporates the sweat on my arms and legs. Outside, a dog barks, someone laughs, a door slams. Then quiet. After several hours of drugged sleep, I […]
Vino Under the Volcano: Etna Wines Erupt Expected Notions of Terroir
Editor’s Note: I’ve been writing about volcanic wines since my second book, Unquenchable, was published with Random House in 2011. My fascination with them continues. I expected something a little more dramatic: the sizzle of a lava river oozing down the volcano, the rumble of the earth as it split between my feet, the screams of villagers running for their lives. Instead, all I hear are the clicks of tourist cameras as we look up at Mount Etna, its white tip puffing peacefully against the blue sky. “To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen […]
