Chianti on a Weeknight

Everyday Meals Deserve a Nice Bottle of Wine Your everyday meals deserve a nice bottle of wine! Looking at my blog posts, you might believe every meal is from scratch – not so! On busy weeknights, we take lots of shortcuts. Tacos from a kit? Yep. Spaghetti sauce from a jar? You betcha! We do … Continue reading

Join Our Chianti Extravaganza! #ItalianFWT

four Chianti Classico wines

From Top to Bottom, It’s a Chianti Extravaganza! Join the Italian Food Wine and Travel Group as we expand our knowledge about Italy’s most famous wine: Chianti! We’ll be posting and chatting about our findings on Saturday October 7. If you have a blog and would you like to join us, just send an email … Continue reading

The Sordid Tale of Marsala Wine #ItalianFWT

Sweet and dry marsala wine

Italian Food Wine & Travel Group Indulges in Italian Sweeties This month, our Italian Food Wine & Travel (#ItalianFWT) group will be sampling and posting on sweet wines from Italy. Take a look farther down in this post for links to my fellow Italian wine enthusiasts contributions for the month. There is no shortage of … Continue reading

Sicilian Fun with Frappato, Grillo, Swordfish and Artichokes #ItalianFWT

A Virtual Return to Sicily Our Italian Food Wine & Travel group has visited (virtually) Sicily a couple of times. This month, we’re returning with another open invitation to further explore Sicily from afar. I’m fascinated with everything related to Mount Etna, but there’s much more to explore than that one corner of this large … Continue reading

Pizza Night with Arpepe Valtellina Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo from Valtellina and ArPePe The most well known home of Nebbiolo is the Langhe region in Piedmont, but Nebbiolo is grown in a variety of places in northern Italy. All produce wines which are clearly Nebbiolo, but each unique regional climate, vineyard position, soil, and winegrowing method places a stamp on the wine. The … Continue reading

Nebbiolo Paired With Smoky Mushroom Mac & Cheese

Smoky mushroom mac & cheese paired with two Nebbiolo wines

More Fun With Nebbiolo Here’s another great food pairing and a couple of enjoyable examples of Nebbiolo “beyond the B’s” of Barolo and Barbaresco. The high acidity and tannins in Nebbiolo make it a great partner for rich foods as the two balance each other nicely. Mac & cheese fills the bill nicely, and the … Continue reading

Nebbiolo Paired With Onion Smoked Brisket

Smoked Brisket served with two Nebbiolo wines

Braised Meat and Nebbiolo – a Classic Pairing Braised meats are a classic cool weather pairing with Nebbiolo, so a braised dish was a clear choice to kick off our Nebbiolo pairing round-up. Today, we adjusted a brisket recipe for a smoking trial on the Primo Ceramic grill. Verdict: winner on all counts. Nebbiolo #1 … Continue reading

Nebbiolo Grows On My Desert Island #ItalianFWT

Nebbiolo Beyond The Famous King & Queen Our Italian Food Wine and Travel group is dedicating this month to the Nebbiolo grape, but with a twist. We’re exploring versions outside of the most famous Barolo and Barbaresco. These lesser known brethren deserve a month of their own! Scan down to the bottom of this post … Continue reading

#ItalianFWT Digs Deeper into Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo grapes on the vine

Nebbiolo After the King & Queen The Nebbiolo grape is the sole grape in two of the most famous and highly regarded wines in Northern Italy, Barolo and Barbaresco. These wines are known to be elegant, powerfully structured and built to age for decades. They also will set you back a few dollars! Nebbiolo is … Continue reading

Swordfish Pasta with a Not So Crazy Sicilian Red #ItalianFWT

Frank Cornelissen Hijacked My Post Our Italian Food Wine & Travel assignment this month was to highlight wine and food from a coastal area of Italy. I immediately knew I would want Sicily for my choice. I had picked out a Sicilian seafood pasta recipe to try as well white and red wines from the … Continue reading