Writing about the wines of Piemonte, Italy and France
The wines of Romagna
It has been a long, hot, dry summer in Italy … until a group of wine writers turned up in Rimini. But a couple of days of downpours were not going to put us off. And then the sun came out and it was perfect, with some good light too. Here are some of my
Photoblog of Romagna, August 2021 Read More »
One of the joys of visiting a less well-known Italian region is the local grape varieties to be found there. Romagna’s Albana grape variety is a perfect example. It is barely grown anywhere else than between Bologna and Italy’s Adriatic coast and has become a regional speciality of Romagna. It also has beautiful bunches of
Celebrating Romagna’s Albana grape variety Read More »
The first full day of the visit was taken up with Romagna Sangiovese and friends. It is one of the bonuses of this trip that the Sangiovese is complemented with Romagna’s white and sweet wines – Albana, Bombino Bianco, Trebbiano and more. It’s a splendidly mixed diet. The Consorzio di vini di Romagna gave a
Romagna Sangiovese and friends Read More »
It is a genuine delight to be able to travel back to Italy for the first time in 19 months, due to the restrictions of Covid 19. But I am finally back here and it was tempting to kiss the concrete of Bologna airport! I am the guest of Consorzi Vini di Romagna who have
Welcome to Romagna Read More »
This page is a repository for tasting notes of wines predominantly made from the Sangiovese grape variety which are, or have been, available in the UK in early 2013. I hope the selection has a charmingly whimsical air about it as it is, in the modern parlance, random. This is partly because I have included
Sangiovese in the UK Read More »
Recently, because of studying for wine exams, I have had to concentrate on tasting mainstream, commercial wines. If it isn’t ‘widely available and commercially important’ sadly it isn’t high on my current list of priorities. This is a complete volte-face for me. Normally, I would seek out the local varieties and ignore the Cabernets, Chardonnays
The Italian road less travelled Read More »
September’s BBC2 was a postponed celebration of a birthday – and the custom is that the birthday girl gets to choose the theme which in this case was Sangiovese. The likelihood, therefore, was there would be quite a lot of Tuscan, or at least, central Italian wines. The questions for a blind tasting might be:
Savoury Sangiovese Read More »
When we think of Italian wine, we have established regions in mind – Valpolicella, Soave or Sicily if we are stood in front of a supermarket shelf, Barolo, Montalcino or Montepulciano, perhaps, if we are talking to a specialist wine merchant. In these contexts it is inevitably the regions which produce high volume at low