Sandro Chia is an avant garde artist turned Brunello producer. Now, I don’t follow art, but if his career as a painter fails, he can rest assured that his winemaking abilities will provide for him. Chia includes reproductions of his…
Continue readingIt’s Football Season and that means Sunday Gravy time. As the weather cools, a pot of this glorious concoction on the stove not only makes your house smell wonderful, but it comforts as you settle in to watch the games….
Continue readingDinner at Mr. Jefferson’s is a written treasure dedicated to documenting one of the most momentous, yet largely unknown moments in the history of our young country. The date was 1790 and Thomas Jefferson, after returning from his stint as…
Continue readingAfter we left Roma, as documented in Part 1, we were bound for the Tuscan Umbrian hills where we had rented a villa for a week to live “la dolce vita”. Day 4 – The Trip That Almost Wasn’t: My…
Continue readingThis is the time of year when the produce in the garden starts to ripen and I love to make one of my favorite classic spaghetti dishes. The inspiration for this dish comes from the peasant cooking of Puglia and…
Continue readingI’ve got a few more travelogues and recipes I’m working on, as well as a requested primer to differentiate sugo, ragu, and gravy! In the meantime, these recent bottles provided enjoyment. 1999 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino: This monster Brunello…
Continue readingTasting Report – 2006 Brunello di Montalcino The 2006 vintage in the Tuscan hilltop town and surrounding vineyards of Montalcino, has provided us with some of the best Brunello to wind up in bottle since the excellent 1997 vintage. Over…
Continue readingFontana Trevi, Roma I admit that I hadn’t planned to write anything substantive about this trip, feeling that the task would be too daunting, the events hard to recall and any words I attempted to weave together would simply be…
Continue readingAnd that, is Pesto alla Genovese, the classic, traditional “condimento” from Liguria. I’m asked all the time if I can provide my pesto recipe, but the problem is, it’s more of a process that I tweak each time I make…
Continue readingThey say that aroma can be the most powerful of all memory triggers. I cannot beg to differ. Whilerecently enjoying, and of course, smelling, the 1995 Castello Banfi Tavernelle Cabernet I couldn’t help but recall the sight of the vineyard that…
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