There’s a movement afoot in Italy’s Romagna to get Predappio Sangiovese—long the jewel in the crown of the region’s top reds, thanks to the diverse ochre and brown calcareous clay and yellow sand soils of its vineyards (thought to impart the wines with their distinct minerality—its own DOCG status. It’s a bit nascent for the…
Tag: Italian Wine
Yo Yo YO Sannio! (A Sannio Campania Deep Dive in Philly)
A few months ago, I braved the utter hellishness of I-76 rush hour traffic (along with several other fine Philadelphia-area wine pro folks) to attend a media dinner at the venerable Old City restaurant Panorama. The star attraction? Wines from Italy’s Sannio DOC in Campania. Sannio was awarded DOC status in the 1990s, though its…
Movin’ On (Bad Company’s Paul Cullen Takes On Wine Again)
It’s hard to believe that I first met former Bad Company bassist turned chef/wine producer Paul Cullen over ten years ago (“Ten. YEARS. MAN!!!!!!”). Back in 2012, Cullen was establishing his performer/chef second career, which is now successful enough that he’s able to host events for hungry and thirsty food-and-wine (and music) lovers in his…
Sustainability Tricks of the Trade in Italy’s Wettest Wine Region (Dispatch From Collio, Part 3)
In the immortal words of Kermit the frog, “it isn’t easy being green.” That’s especially true when you’re trying to hit sustainability targets in Italy’s rainiest—and therefore, one of its most disease-prone—winegrowing regions: Collio. During a (somewhat) recent media jaunt to the area, a handful of Collio’s winemakers described what it takes to make wines…