In the vineyard-dressed landscape of the Langhe, in Italy’s Piedmont region, hillsides rise steeply on one side, then drop off more gradually on the other. The name ‘Langhe’ is believed to have Celtic roots, meaning ‘tongues of land,’ alluding to these steep hillsides, and the area’s raised valleys. Our host, Marco Scaglione, from Meet Piemonte, described it thisContinue reading “Piedmont, Italy: The Wine Landscapes of the Langhe”
Category Archives: Food and Drink
The Renaissance of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vineyard in Milan
In 1482, Leonardo da Vinci moved to Milan, where he would work for the ruling Sforza family doing engineering, sculpting, and architectural projects, and most famously, painting his mural masterpiece, The Last Supper. Renaissance genius Leonardo also tended to his own grapevines in Milan — just across the street from the chapel in which he created The Last Supper. Incredibly, Leonardo’s vineyard was in existenceContinue reading “The Renaissance of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vineyard in Milan”
Pastoral Piedmont: An Agriturismo & Epicurean Experience in Italy
When you think of Italy, it’s likely that home-cooked pasta, verdant agricultural landscapes, and gourmet food products like Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and traditional balsamic vinegar come to mind. A lesser-known concept is that of the agriturismo — a compound noun that marries the Italian words for agriculture and tourism. As the name implies, an agriturismo is a place where visitors canContinue reading “Pastoral Piedmont: An Agriturismo & Epicurean Experience in Italy”
Piedmont, Italy: Monferrato’s Slow Food, Wine & Truffles
Motoring through Italy’s Piemonte or Piedmont region, I sometimes felt as though I’d been whisked back in time a few decades, perhaps even centuries. The dramatic hills of the Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato districts were wrapped with rows of grapevines and orchards, crowned with handsome fortresses, and dotted with villages wearing terra-cotta rooftops. Large-scale industry was largely absent from this swathe of the Northern ItalianContinue reading “Piedmont, Italy: Monferrato’s Slow Food, Wine & Truffles”
Moments to Remember: A Long Weekend in Saint-Émilion, France
Taking to Saint-Émilion’s cobbled lanes not long after sunrise, I felt as though I’d gone back in time a few decades, perhaps even a few hundred years. In the early-morning light, the town’s graceful wrought-iron signs appeared in silhouetted form. Though the establishments’ names were in shadows, the contours of a sign’s grape leaf, baguette,Continue reading “Moments to Remember: A Long Weekend in Saint-Émilion, France”
A Guide to “Losing Your Heart” in Heidelberg, Germany
What to see, do, and eat in Heidelberg, an enchanting university town in southwestern Germany.
On the Sideways Movie Trail: A Wine Tasting Tour of Santa Barbara
Far from home, in the Macedonian capital city of Skopje, the American wine-lover’s flick Sideways was providing background fodder at a wine event. For a second, Shawn and I thought we’d been whisked back to the United States, until we spotted the Academy Award winner’s subtitles written in the Cyrillic script, an alphabet made even more foreign afterContinue reading “On the Sideways Movie Trail: A Wine Tasting Tour of Santa Barbara”
Kalofer, Bulgaria: A Story of Life, Lavender, & Lace
Arriving in what was to be our home away from home in rural Bulgaria, we knew not a soul. But by the time we left Kalofer, a tiny town tucked away in Central Bulgaria, where the livestock population quite possibly outnumbers the number of humans living there, an impromptu farewell committee was wishing us adieu.Continue reading “Kalofer, Bulgaria: A Story of Life, Lavender, & Lace”
Travels With Tricia 