‘Tis the season for holiday entertaining and gift giving. What if you’d like to give someone a bottle of wine? How do you know which one to choose? How much do you spend? Here to help us with that is wine expert Natalie MacLean. Welcome Natalie. So if choosing the right wine is so tricky, why should we give wine as a gift at all? When you give the gift of wine, doubles are fine unlike toaster ovens, there are no wrong sizes unlike that ugly sweater and re-gifting is so much easier compared to fruit cake or a […]
Nero d’Avola
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 […]
10 Best Nebbiolo Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo is a red wine grape from the Northern Italian region of Piedmont. Nebbiolo makes the classic wines of Italy, Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as Gattinara, Ghemme and Nebbiolo D’Alba. You’ll find my Top 10 Nebbiolo reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Nebbiolo: 1. Compared to other Italian grapes, Nebbiolo buds early and ripens late with harvesting taking place mid to late October. 2. The Nebbiolo grape produces lighter style red wines that can be highly tannic in youth with aromas of tar and roses. Prolonged aging is essential to mellow this wine and soften tannins. Aromas such […]
10 Best Nero d’Avola Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Nero d’Avola
Nero d’Avola is one of the most important red wine grapes in Sicily and increasingly in Italy as a whole. You’ll find my top 10 Nero d’Avola reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Nero d’Avola: 1. Nero d’Avola is named after Avola, a small town in South East Sicily. Several hundred years ago Nero d’Avola was known as “The Black Grape of Avola.” Nero d’Avola is also known as Calabrese, which lends to the idea that Nero d’Avola originated in Calabria on mainland Italy at the tip of the boot. 2. The best Nero d’Avola comes from the […]
