Trade Fairs & Events
In this category of my wine blog you will find everything about the main fairs and events on the subject of wine. I will be happy to share with you the best tastings, maps of my tastings and reflections made together with Italian and foreign wine producers. Le best wine fairs are all here - from Vinitaly to the Merano Wine Festival - ready to find out all the background with me? As always, I'll be waiting for you in the comments to compare notes... and also to do some gossiping! 😉
Wine in Venice: presentation press conference
On Wednesday, I went to the first press conference of Wine in Venice, a wine-themed event organised by Wine Tales that aims to rewrite the classic canons of traditional industry events. Venice is a unique city in the world (well in Portugal there is...
Wine tasting course in Monte Isola
Today I am really happy because I am announcing that I will be holding the first multi-day wine tasting course of my professional career in Monte Isola on Lake Iseo! Of course, I have already held tasting afternoons and evenings, Masterclasses on...
Vinitaly 2022: 72 tastings not to be missed
Vinitaly 2022 is just around the corner and, like every year, I have prepared a little present for you (I hope you like it, I worked on it for two whole days!): a map of my tastings with the 72 wines that, in my opinion, you should not miss if you go to Vinitaly Verona. I recommend...
AIS Lombardy: preview Viniplus Guide 2022
I was recently at the presentation of Ais Lombardia's Guida Viniplus 2022, a wine guide now in its 16th edition. This year Viniplus will also be sustainable as it is not printed and can only be consulted via the dedicated web app. For...
Alpago: pre-Blend Bellenda oenological symmetries
One thing I often repeat is that where we choose to live defines who we are and, consequently, how much beauty we are able to bring to the world. We often forget that we are guests on a time-tested planet and, as such, we should...
Moscato Wine Fest: a grape variety to restart
I was at the Moscato Wine Fest 2021 a month ago now and have been absent from the blog for a while now, but I am an excused absentee because I am spending the entire month of August finishing the third edition of my book 'How to Become a Sommelier' which, I anticipate, will...
Milan Wine Week 2021: Super press conference!
Last Monday, I braved the hallucinating heat to answer the call of Milan Wine Week 2021 and attend a press conference that turned out to be unmissable. Milan, rightly called 'Italy's gateway to Europe', turned out to be yet another...
Coronavirus Italy: Umberto Cosmo -Bellenda- writes to Verona Fiere
On Monday evening, just three days after publishing this article on Vinitaly 2020 postponed to June, I received this letter from Umberto Cosmo of Bellenda. I had just invited producers and operators in the sector to write to me what they thought about...
Coronavirus: North blocked, Vinitaly postponed to June, what do you think?
I have been quite undecided whether to write something about the Coronavirus, which I am sure you already hear about practically all day. In Italy we are at 3,089 cases, 107 deaths and 276 cured. Alarming is the situation in Emilia-Romagna, which out of just 2,500 ...
Vinitaly 2019: 8 wines from Emilia-Romagna to discover
At Vinitaly 2019, as always, I took a lot of notes... and flicking through my Moleskine Wine Journal today, I had only decided to write a 'generic' article about the best tastings I did this year. Yet, page after page, word after word, it...
Vinitaly 2019: 72 tastings you can't miss
By now, for me giving you this map of my tastings for Vinitaly is a tradition that I am happy to respect again this year! I have chosen 72 tastings that you absolutely cannot miss by keeping the wines of all types that I liked best. Then I created...
FIVI 2018: the Piacenza Wine Market was a success, even if...
There, I know you noticed the end of the title, that 'even if' followed by the three canonical dots. You're already sniffing a slight controversy, so you're probably curious to find out 'who I'm mad at'. Let's make a small premise: the 2018 FIVI was an occasion....
Photostory of a day in Milan, between Orticola and Best Wine Stars 2018
Those who know me know that when I have to leave the lake to go to the city I feel an incredible malaise. The traffic, the confusion, the noise of the horns, the unbreathable air... yet Milan has something special in its ability to be the frequent home of...
Vinitaly 2018: but who are these specialised operators?
There, I had decided as the first article of Vinitaly 2018 to talk about rosé wines... and instead nada, I immediately got the itch for controversy! In fact, I don't even want to be controversial, but to reflect together with you on the numbers of Vinitaly and especially on those who...
Vinitaly 2018: download the tasting map of 65 Italian sparkling wines
As you probably know, this year is the first edition of my sparkling wine guide 500 Bubbles in 500: the best 500 tastings told in 360 colour pages. Therefore, for Vinitaly 2018, I decided to make a map of the tastings completely...
Bellenda: extraordinary vertical tasting of Prosecco S.C. 1931 at Vinitaly 2017
Every year, as is now customary, I write an article on the winery that most moved me at Vinitaly, and for the 2017 edition I chose Bellenda. I take this opportunity to thank Agnese Ceschi and Lavinia Furlani of Wine Meridian for contacting me and...
Vinitaly 2017: Joska Biondelli presents 3 Franciacorta wines, 2 are exceptional.
It is 3pm and I am in the Franciacorta tasting room at Vinitaly's Palaexpo Lombardia where Jouska Biondelli is about to present the new vintages to the press. I am already familiar with this Franciacorta winery that was founded just 7 years ago, and I am very curious...
Vinitaly 2017: (almost) 200 extraordinary wines and 40 wines not to be missed
Yes, I know... it's Sunday evening and Vinitaly 2017 started this morning! As you may know I was in France, for the Millésima Blog Awards.... And I really didn't manage to make this article earlier. The connection in the beautiful Chateaus of Bordeaux....
Identità Golose 2017: Paul Pairet, Cristina Bowerman, Davide Oldani and Heinz Beck
The thirteenth edition of the Identità Golose congress, which took place in Milan from 4 to 7 March 2017, had extraordinary exponents of international cuisine during all the days. To my recollection, the last time I had a fever I was five years old. In...
GourmArte 2016: good food products, some interesting wines, but the star is the cuisine!
Last Monday I went to GourmArte 2016... a bit against the grain since they were all at the Fivi Market. My choice was first of all practical: GourmArte is in Bergamo, i.e. a stone's throw from home... and being in a delivery period I have very little time!...
GourmArte 2016 - Bergamo hosts food and wine excellence Made in Italy
Tomorrow starts GourmArte, the Fair in Bergamo that from 26 to 28 November 2016 invites us on a journey to discover gourmet delicacies from all over Italy, especially those of the Christmas season. The beauty of this initiative lies in being able to stroll among the various...
Vinitaly again: many friends, a treat and a prize!
I've been writing a little less these days... but you know, when a great Love ends, it sucks a lot, a lot of energy out of you... and while you're thinking about whether you'll end up like Bridget Jones being eaten by an Alsatian shepherd in her flat... or in my case by a Paco (2.5 Pomeranian...
My greatest discovery at Vinitaly 2016? Prosecco Metodo Classico PS
Life is a Bubble is the slogan of Le Vigne di Alice, which I count as the best winery discovered during this Vinitaly 2016. Those who know me well know that I have always hated Prosecco... or at least that was until Tuesday, the day of my extraordinary oenological discovery!...
Vinitaly is in Verona, let's leave the Salone del Mobile to Milan!
If you've been following me for a while, you know how much I've rubbished the organisation of Verona Fiere for the 49th edition of Vinitaly, but if you don't, I suggest you read Vinitaly, another love story -ended tragically- in Verona, which even from the title hints at the tone...
Vinitaly 2016: young winemakers meet young bloggers
Today I am writing to you, for the first time, from the train on my return from Vinitaly 2016. A bit to optimise time and a bit to avoid finding myself in Edolo (I am insanely sleepy...)! In fact, with the iPad, life as a blogger is much better! 😉 This article will...
Which wineries you cannot miss at Vinitaly: download my map!
Dear winelover, at 1.30am on Sunday night I can finally go to bed. As I promised you a few days ago, I have prepared a map of Vinitaly with the wineries and wines that I recommend you taste! Obviously this map is constantly evolving: from tomorrow ...
Identità Golose 2016: Milan stars in the Kitchen of Freedom
Identità Golose is the first Italian Congress dedicated to Cuisine d'Auteur conceived by Paolo Marchi in 2004, which this year celebrates its 11th edition in grand style. I was at Gusto in Scena in Venice a few days ago, and as 'admirable' as the great...
Taste on stage: Marcello Coronini PROMOTION
Before I talk about my personal experience at Gusto in Scena, I want to make a premise about Cucina del Senza, as food and wine critic Marcello Coronini calls it. Cucina del Senza is based on a philosophy that I share: I love cooking...
Biondelli presents Prémiere Dame organic Franciacorta at Expo
Those who know me know that I am always rather sceptical of the word bio associated with wine... in fact I am very sceptical of the concept of bio in general on such a sick planet. That is why when dear Claudia Bondi invited me to the event in...
Countdown to the Franciacorta Festival!
From 19 to 20 September, Franciacorta will be celebrating its annual festival with a series of truly unmissable events for all lovers of bubbles! And there will be something for everyone: winelovers will be able to take part in vertical and...
Voluptates... a midsummer night's dream
"Moralists renounce all pleasure except that of meddling in the pleasures of others." Russel -Voluptates, from Latin "Pleasures" - Last night was a special night! With fellow tumblers and an interesting newcomer I was at the 2015 edition of...
Vinitaly 2015: another love story - ended tragically - in Verona
Drunks, vulgarians and selfie-loving screw-ups with sticks who attend Vinitaly be warned: this article on Vinitaly 2015 is not for you. Happy reading to everyone else. Having just returned from Vinitaly, I went to the Verona Fiere website to see if...