VinConnect Customer Tour to Tuscany — June 2015
Earlier this month we launched another VinConnect Customer Tour, this time to visit the region of Tuscany. I was accompanied by some of VinConnect’s customers, who joined me for tours and tastings at our winery partners, some wonderful meals and visits to many beautiful places. We were able to taste wines across several recent vintages, from […]
VinConnect Customer Trip to Barolo and Barbaresco
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text] Travel Day: Sunday-Monday This year’s VinConnect Customer Trip began for me in Washington, DC on Sunday afternoon, November 16th. Once I arrived at Dulles, I decided to indulge myself at the VinoVolo (website) outpost there to help set the mood while awaiting departure. I really enjoy those VinoVolo locations that seem to be popping up […]
Terre di Toscana — Tasting Spring in Tuscany
Skiing and celebrating Carnival with my children might be more typical pastimes in late February; instead, I chose to return to Tuscany in the off-season to savor the excellence of this blessed region along with the silence and the peacefulness of a pre-Spring pause, off on a jaunt to the seaside alone with my thoughts. I decided […]
25 Years of Il Caberlot — A Spectacular Vertical Tasting
I must preface by admitting that I am enchanted by all things Il Carnasciale. For me, the winery, its proprietors, collaborators and the wine itself embody what wine should be – meticulously crafted by passionate, dedicated people in respect of nature and the territory, with a constant eye to innovation and extraordinary quality. I could […]
Saint-Vincent Tournante: A Burgundy Festival Like No Other
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text] While burgundy is full of wine celebrations, none of them quite compare to the historical Saint-Vincent Tournante. This festival, whose roots date back to the middle ages, has many traditions. Most importantly and to this day the event marks the occasion to promote the wines of Burgundy, foster solidarity between winemakers and pay […]
Discovering Côte-Rôtie at the Marché aux Vins D’Ampuis
Last weekend I attended an epic tasting in the Northern Rhone town of Ampuis just 30 minutes south of Lyon, where over 60 wineries and their winemakers gathered to share their wines from Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, Cornas, Hermitage, Saint-Péray and Crozes-Hermitage. The event which is appropriately called the Marche aux vins D’Ampuis (“Ampuis Wine Market”), which […]
VinConnect Customer Trip to Tuscany — November 2013
A few months ago I invited several VinConnect customers to join me on my next set of regional winery visits, which turned out to be Tuscany in November 2013. Three loyal, intrepid VinConnect fans signed up for the task, and so joined me the week before Thanksgiving to tour and taste with VinConnect’s partner wineries, […]
Hospices du Beaune — An Insider’s Guide
Every third Sunday in November the famed Hospices du Beaune charity event and auction takes place under Les Halles (home to the Saturday market). The famed event brings together wine enthusiasts from across the globe to partake in a weekend full of prestigious tastings, Burgundian festivities and delectable cuisine. From Friday onward the town becomes […]
Wine Travel in Spain? Absolutely!
I just returned from doing my first set of wine tasting visits in Spain, and I must say, I was very impressed. While I’ve done several trips to Burgundy, the Rhone, the Piedmont and Tuscany, it’s fair to say I didn’t have much of a picture in my mind of what to expect from Spainish […]
La Festa del Barolo 2013
I spent Saturday evening at Antonio Galloni’s La Festa del Barolo, and had such a wonderful, amazing time that I felt I needed to share the experience with you all. Widely regarded as the preeminent reviewer of Italian wine in America today, Antonio Galloni started this event two years ago. He modeled it after Daniel […]