Tag: Amarone

This seminar, Challenge of the Red Titans, was fun.  It was held Friday afternoon and we had spent the week preceding with serious discussions of Italian wines.  We deserved a dash of fun, but the seminar still provided us with valuable information about Italian red wines.  We learned a bit about how the big Italian blockbuster wineries are reshaping themselves…

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…

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,…

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…

If you are a lover of Valpolicella wines, then you should visit the table of Vini Montresor at VanWineFest 2024.  Here is some background on the winery, in their own words. About Vini Montresor In 1892 Giacomo Montresor founded the Giacomo Montresor Cellars, giving life to a production that, since then and until today, is an identity expression of its…

This year I had many terrific wines to taste and review.  Wines that I rate as 5 star I deem as needing nothing to add or subtract.  They are perfect as-is.  I had one wine that reached that status this year so instead of making a separate article for that wine, I am including it in this article.  My 4.5-5…

Wineries change hands over time, but you do not often hear of a winery with a vineyard going from monks to lay people.  Monte del Frà is one of those wineries and we are lucky to have the winery attending VanWineFest 2024.  Their wines are in our market already, but you can get a chance to speak with a winery…

The Grandi Marchi, is a collaboration of eighteen winemaking families across Italy to promote the culture and commercialization of Italian high-quality wine on world markets.  All the wineries are family-owned, have been in operation for at least 25 years (some for centuries), own their estate vineyards, are innovators, and much more.  We had nine of the eighteen families visiting in Vancouver to…

Valpolicella may not be as well-known to many wine lovers compared to Chianti Classico in Italy but deserves to be.  There are different levels of quality of Valpolicella wines to satisfy everybody’s palates.  I was fortunate to attend a Valpolicella Masterclass with Daenna Van Mulligen leading the class.  Following is information that I thought would be of interest to you followed…