Category: italy

The wines from the Veneto region of Italy are still not as well-known as areas such as Chianti Classico in Tuscany but should be.  This region produces the Valpolicella range of wines which are very food friendly.  Watch my video interview with Matteo Allegrini from Allegrini Estates at VanWineFest 2024 as he tells us about the different wines that they…

Although Italy contributes approximately 20% of the world’s wine, it remains a relative mystery to many people, due to unfamiliar grape varieties and wine region names.  Wine journalist and educator Filippo Bartolotta led us exploring the rich history, modern innovation, and the renaissance of Italian classic wine styles shaping the current identity of this historical wine region.  The winery principals…

I enjoy interviewing winery principals during VanWineFest every year.  This year, I tasted the wine Santi Lugana Folar 2021 by Cantina Santi from the Lake Garda region in Northeastern Italy.  It is a white wine made with Trebbiano di Lugana grapes.  This wine is not well-known but has refreshing acidity, minerality, and stone fruit flavours, which make this type of…

I was invited to sit down with Mr. Beppe d’Andrea, Ruffino‘s Senior Global Brand Ambassador, to taste a selection of their wines and talk about the winery and other wine topics while Beppe was attending VanWineFest 2024. In 1987, Beppe began his career with Ruffino and has never looked back. Initially working in the vineyards, he soon joined the winemaking…

The Lake Garda region in Italy, on the western edge of the Veneto region, shares some of the same grape varieties as Valpolicella but is not as well known.  The region makes a tasty white wine blend, known as Custoza, and a red blend called Bardolino, plus a few other types of wines.  I was fortunate to interview winery owner,…

For VanWineFest 2024, I joined Barone Francesco Ricasoli from Tuscany for an unforgettable dinner featuring his Chianti Classico wines paired with traditional Tuscan fare prepared by the culinary team at Italian Kitchen.  The Barone provided us with background to his family winery as well as information about each wine.  He is the 32nd Barone of the family, living in the…

On Friday during VanWineFest 2024, I spent my time in the International Festival Tasting Room, primarily tasting Italian red wines.  There was a great variety of wines from across the country and while I attempted to visit every table, that was an impossible task.  Here are the wines that I quite enjoyed.  If there are red wines you tasted at…

71 Italian wineries presented their wines at VanWineFest 2024.  With each winery pouring 5 different wines, we had 355 wines to sip and savour in the International Festival Tasting Room.  I spent my Thursday tasting white and sparkling wines and Friday tasting the red wines.  In this article, I cover my favourite white and sparkling wines.  In some cases, there…

My first winery dinner for VanWineFest 2024 was the Tuscan winery, Marchesi Frescobaldi.  This winery has extensive vineyard holdings across Tuscany and into Montalcino.  The Frescobaldi family has been making wine dating back 700 years and spanning over 30 generations. Today the Frescobaldi family owns 11 estates in Italy including 10 in Tuscany and distribute their wines in over 65…

Yesterday, Feb 26, 2024, was the official kickoff for the 45th annual Vancouver International Wine Festival (VanWineFest).  It was a small event with various media and a sampling of the wines that we can expect from the theme country, Italy.  I had a chance to catch up with some of my wine media friends to discuss the events we were…