Tag: wine tasting
-
Sicilian Wines Only in Sicily, Please
Cin cin! Look at it. Smell it. Taste it. Enjoy it! Here’s a glimpse at a recent wine tasting I did in Menfi at Mandrarossa Winery. I enjoyed these wines immensely. Sicily is a major grape growing region with many different grape varieties you’ve probably never heard of. These presented here are five grapes for…
-
Day 4 of 16 Days of Sicily | Wines, Vines, and Volcanoes
Sicily is teeming with grapes (and at least three active volcanoes), so I implore you, open your mind and heart to wines you haven’t heard of, and you will be so happy that you did. Nero d’Avola, Frappato, Perricone, Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese (and these are just the reds!), (now for some white) Catarratto, Carricante,…
-
Stunning Sicily October 2021, Day 2
Ciao from Stunning Sicily, Day 2! Today we made our way to the south slope of Etna, where we met Benjamin North Spencer of Etna Wine School for a comprehensive lesson about wine making in this extraordinary terroir. Inhabitants of Sicily have been making vino here since before ancient Greek times, so to spend our…
-
Today’s Sicily Wine-making Report
This grape mosto may not look too exciting to you, but it is exciting for winemakers! Currently, mosto, or grape juice, is in the midst of the fermentation process. Wine making takes time and patience and practice. See the stainless steel “barrel” in the background? That’s where the magic is happening right now (in a…
-
The Abundance Of Mount Etna In Sicily
When you walk among the vines at a vineyard like Benanti Viticoltori with our friends at Etna Wine School on the slopes of Mount Etna, you see for yourself what those volcanic soils I mentioned yesterday produce. In this case, outstanding grapes for wine-making. But not only! The Etna region is known for its pistachios,…
-
Etna Wines Plus Excellent Company Equals A Memorable Evening
It’s hard to capture the sense of enthusiasm and interest that flowed through us all last evening during our Etna Wine Box with Guided Synchronous Online Tasting and Discussion. This photo only gives a glimpse into the more than two hours spent on a virtual visit to Europe’s largest, most active volcano with author Benjamin…
-
Wine Is Another Window Into Sicily
Wine offers another window into Sicily. The soil, landscape, climate, flora, and fauna of a region all contribute to the taste, smell, and wonder of the island’s now renowned wines. To be continued…
-
Saint Martin’s Day: Time To Taste The Novello
November 11 is La Festa di San Martino, or Saint Martin’s Day. It marks the first tasting of the new wine, known as “novello.” September marked the grape harvest, when the grapes are picked, cleaned, and macerated to make juice (must or “mosto”) that was then left to age. This week, depending on the varietal,…
-
The Grapes Tell Us When
The grapes are getting ready for the harvest! Almost time to make the mosto for the wine.