Montalcino is a small, very picturesque hilltop town nestled in arguably some of the most beautiful country around. While Montalcino may not need a lot of time dedicated to exploring; indeed most guide books recommend just a few hours. But that’s rushing things, because when you’re ensconced in the heart of Tuscany – Tuscan...
Florence proved a swoon worthy city where ever twist and turn offers new and unexpected delights. We spent over three days in this city and while it was a good start, it was not nearly enough to absorb its beauty or take in all the features that make it unique (more details later). I’ve...
Last week, we spent the weekend exploring parts of Sonoma County, that we had left undiscovered, not by any deliberate design, but a somewhat happy consequence that we just had not made it there just yet. My husband found us a wonderful bed and breakfast just outside of Santa Rosa that proved to be...
“Farm to Table” or “Farm to Fork” was predicted to be a new trend for 2010, but for the folks that have been eating this way for years, they’re wondering what all the fuss is about. Like comfort food was the trend of 2009, how new is it? To me it sounds suspiciously...
I had no plans to write about my experience at the Fancy Food Show that recently took place in San Francisco; I intended to incorporate what I discovered in future posts, but after receiving many requests to identify what I tried, I reconsidered. After all, is not food something of an ambassador of a...
Kinsale was one of my favorite destinations while in Ireland. How could it not be? It’s very picturesque and known as the Gourmet Capital of Ireland. I will not comment on that claim, as I have not the depth of knowledge of Ireland’s food scene, but my limited exposure tells me, if its not...
My husband and I celebrated our anniversary last week with a weekend getaway to Mendocino County. My husband planned the event, keeping me in the dark until we were about 15 minutes from our destination. Until that moment, he had hinted strongly that we were “hiking in” and needed to stop and secure some...
Like much of life, fortified wines were born from necessity. In this case, to preserve European wines on long trade voyages in the 16th and 17th centuries. Brandy was added either before or during the fermentation process to stabilize the wines, and improve their shelf life. As might be imagined, traditional wines did not store well in the...
Mead is a fermented beverage also know as “honey wine” because that is frequently made where grapes are not grown and has the simple ingredients of water and yeast. Although, mead is not technically a wine. It has a long history and has been the stuff of legends, literally, having been featured in Beowoulf....
… and if we do, should we? When I select my wine, the scores posted along with the description of the wine certainly influence my decision. My assumption is that the educated folks making the decisions are professionals after all, and as for me, I’m imbibing purely for pleasure. Sure, I know what I like, but I am...
