At the Dante Alighieri wine estate, Possessione Casal dei Ronchi, the Alighieri's have been making excellent Valpolicello and Amarone wine for the past 700 years. Today Cynthia Chaplin, sommelier and wine connoisseur, and I chatted about Dante and the Alighieri wine estate, and the fabulous wines produced in this region. Find out more about Cynthia...
Food & Wine
Spannocchia: an exquisite 13th century estate in Tuscany
If you're looking for a spectacular holiday at a breathtaking estate in Tuscany with outstanding food and wine just a short drive to both Siena and Florence then look no further than Spannocchia.Randall Stratton and I chatted about this spectacular estate he and his wife Francesca own and operate. Spannocchia has been owned and run...
Italian Sandwiches & Panini
Sandwiches and panini are a mainstay of Italian cuisine, and worldwide. Take a look at this deep dive into beloved sandwiches and panini, plus my top 10 must-try sandwiches and panini when you visit Italy. What are sandwiches? A sandwich is any food - typically vegetables, sliced cheese and meat - placed between two slices...
Leonardo da Vinci's Vineyard & Malvasia di Candia Aromatica Wines
Today Cynthia Chaplin (Vinitaly International Italian Wine Ambassador, sommelier, educator, writer, presenter, translator, judge) and I chatted about the Leonardo da Vinci Vineyard & Malvasia di Candia Aromatica Wines: the "wine" side of the genius you may not be aware of. About the Vineyard & the Malvasia di Candia Aromatica grape The genius of Leonardo...
Top 15 tips for perfect food and travel photos
For perfect food and travel photos you can't go wrong if you follow these 15 simple tips shared by professional food photographer, Terri Salminen. About Terri Salminen Terri was born in the United States and moved to Italy when she was three years old. She spent her growing up years in Italy, mostly in the...
Summer Pasta Recipes
Great summer pasta recipes for delicious and easy summer entertaining or family meals: the top 19 summer pastas from Italian food influencers @mangiawithmichele and @flavorofitaly.Listen to our chat about summer pastas here: No-cook summer pasta recipes 1. Caprese pasta This summer pasta recipe is a classic and quintessentially Italian with its red, green and white...
The Best Summer Desserts of 2021
For the best summer desserts of 2021 look no further than Letitia Clark's new book, La Vita è Dolce (Life Is Sweet). Letitia wrote the book during the Covid lockdown as a sort of sweet pick-me-up recipe book project because as she says “sweet things make us feel happy”.I read the book front to cover...
Nine tips for eating and traveling vegan in Italy
Kate McElwee is a lifelong vegetarian and a decade-long vegan who’s been living and working in Rome for a number of years. Kate is American so she has great insight into what it means to be vegan in the United States and here in Italy. She shared these nine tips for enjoyable vegan eating in...
Rimessa Roscioli Wine & Food Experiences in Rome
Rimessa Roscioli is the most recent delicious addition to the four Roscioli food venues in Rome. In my interview with Alessandro Pepe, one of the Rimessa Roscioli owners, he says you can enjoy a Roscioli food venue any time of day: the café, the bakery, the salumeria and Rimessa Roscioli.Renowned Italian chef Massimo Bottura says...
The food of Calabria and Rosetta Costantino
If you’re looking for recipes that reflect the wonderful food of Calabria then no other book does it better than Rosetta Costantino‘s, My Calabria.Rosetta’s book was published in 2010 but it still is the bible for Calabrian cuisine. About Rosetta Rosetta is an only child and was raised in Verbicaro in Calabria until she was...
DOP Balsamic Vinegar: the Black Gold of Modena
If you’d like to experience DOP balsamic vinegar, known as the black gold of Modena, there’s no better way than to take a deep dive into one of the local family producers, or acetaia as they’re known in Italy: Acetaia Malagoli Daniele.Sofia Malagoli has taken the family acetaia to a whole new level and her...
Piedmont wines: three outstanding lesser known reds
Piedmont wines are world-renowned and this remarkable wine region produces more DOCG wines than any other Italian region. It also ranks sixth among the Italian regions in annual production volume. Piedmont produces all kinds of wines from sparkling whites, to rosés to red wines. Perhaps the best known wine in the region is Barolo. As...