Monthly Archives: May 2015

I really love alsatian wines. Over the years I’ve been many times in this lovely place.

Travelling through the southern part of Alsace wine country, always my first stop is the impossibly pretty village of Kinetzheim, to visit Domaine Paul Blanck.

I have always appreciated the quality and prices of wines from this excellent wine producer.

Sylvaner is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace and Germany. It is somewhat neutral but when grown on better terroirs and when yields are left low enough, it can be a flavorful aperitif wine. It shows a lot of self-confidence simply by being itself. Blunt, strong and good.

Fresh and clean, good acidity, green fruit, earth.

Perfect with simple dishes: salad, grilled tuna, vegetable or bacon quiche

With this lovely weather I’m even more into white wines than I was before. I almost only cook light dishes and fish and this wine is the perfect pairing for them. This Perticaia Trebbiano is a wonderful expression of Trebbiano Spoletino.

Perticaia  is the name of the producer behind this wonderful Trebbiano. It was founded by Guido Guardigli in 2000 with the intention of making traditional Umbrian wines with the most respect for both quality of the wines and Umbrian environment.

Perticaia indeed is the word with which, in Umbria’s archaic language, is called the plow

Full-bodied wine, with an enjoyable freshness and solidity due to maturation is stainless steel.  Tropical fruit fragrances, yellow flowers, creamy peach and citrus aromas rush from the glass.

This Trebbiano Spoletino is nonetheless an extremely satisfying wine.

I have never been too much fond of red wines. It’s hard to say, I know, especially for a Sommelier, but when I drink red it has to be a great one…and this is it!

This comes from the area where I was born in Piemonte in the north of Italy. To be more than precise from Vercelli province.

There is always been a big rivality between the small towns of Gattinara and Ghemme in the nearby Novara province.

As with many “small” places, there is intense pride from winemaker to winemaker, both between these two towns, but also between winemakers from one town or the other. Both Ghemme and Gattinara wines are made primarily from the Nebbiolo grape (their local name for Nebbiolo is Spanna). Many people are familiar with the Nebbiolo grape when it takes the form of Barolo or Barbaresco, which are produced in the area around Alba.

Torraccia del Piantavigna winery is in Ghemme and produces both of these wines using their vineyards located around these two towns. Torraccia del Piantavigna winery is owned and managed by a family group headed by Alessandro Francoli, who started the winery in 1977 and separately operates the Luigi Francoli grappa distillery.

Torraccia’s 2004 Gattinara is 100% Nebbiolo. The wine is aged for three years and, although not required by the DOCG rule, most producers (including Torraccia) age the wine in the bottle at least another six months before releasing it.

Great wine, perfect with gnocchi al ragu’ or meat!