I love wines from Alto Adige. Lodged between the rest of Italy and Austria - with a sliver of its borders against Switzerland, the region’s producers craft wines with Italian exuberance and Austrian precision. Moreover, the dynamics of the Alpine duo of chilly temperatures and sunshine taste delicious in the glass.
Read MoreThis wine defies my typical usage suggestions for sweet wines. I often think of sweet wines as “dessert in a glass”, or something that can replace dessert when thirst still calls yet the tummy is too full for more food. One of the primary differences here is that the Ben Ryé possesses a decadently sweet attack yet a surprisingly dry and clean finish.
Read MoreThis varietal Muscat, locally called Zibibbo, starts with serious aromatic pop. It’s plump with lime zest, pink grapefruit, white peppercorn and Mediterranean scrub-baking-under-a-hot-summer-sun. The palate is crisp, dry and light. The combination is so drinkable that you just might think the liquid is evaporating from your glass.
Read MoreMenu in hand, we quickly decided to order a white then open one of our reds. Then, diving deeper into the list a few more minutes, we abandoned the BYO idea. I hovered over the Italian whites not only because the cuisine was Italian but also because the options were equally delicious and cool. There was a Vitovska, a Greco di Tufo and a Garganega, but this Kerner called to me.
Read MoreIt’s the home stretch; it’s the last leg of the marathon. A week of merriment…and still more preparation. It’s a never-ending circle, this holiday process! Remember, there’s always a bottom to the bottle, so don’t be caught short on stock.
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