Rasiglia, A Village Sometimes Described As "The Venice Of Umbria" Whilst on our trip to Norcia last month we stopped en-route at the picturesque village of Rasiglia. Rasiglia is often described as the " Little Venice Of Umbria" but you won't find any gondolas or overpriced drinksRead more →
A Visit To Norcia, A Town In Southern Umbria The town of Norcia in southern Umbria is famous for both religious and culinary reasons. On the religious side of the equation, Norcia was the birthplace of St Benedict, founder of the Benedictine monastic order. On the culinaryRead more →
A Visit To The Rocca Del Leone (Castle Of The Lion) In Castiglione Del Lago Lake Trasimeno , Umbria Today was a beautiful sunny day and we decided to visit Castiglione del Lago, a picturesque town on the western shore of Lake Trasimeno. The old, walled partRead more →
Carmignano, Pomino, Colline Aretine, Colline Senesi, San Gimignano, Siena, Val d'Arbia and Val d'Orcia Colline Fiorentine and Colline Pratesi (hills around Florence and Prato). Carmignano is in the hills to the west of Florence, there are 200 hectares of vineyard here. The area has traditionally grown the uva francese,Read more →
Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano DOCG Montepulciano has its own variety of sangiovese, prugnolo gentile, which is used to make Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG and Vino Rosso di Montepulciano DOC. A word of caution, do not confuse the red montepulciano grape (grown widely in central Italy) withRead more →
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Brunello di Montalcino the hills around the Tuscan town of Montalcino produce some of the most expensive and sought after wines in Italy, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. In fact, in 1980, Brunello became the first ever area to be awarded DOCG status (ifRead more →
The Chianti Wine Region In Central Tuscany The term Chianti has been around since 1398 but the original wine produced in the Chianti area was white. By 1716 the area now known as Chianti Classico was officially established. In 1870 Barone Riccasoli wrote a recipe for ChiantiRead more →
As you may know I run a tour a I Girasoli di Sant'Andrea Winery in the Niccone Valley. I have recently qualified as an Italian sommelier and am always interested to try wines and visit other wineries. In the last few years, the wines from Lake TrasimenoRead more →
A great place to go on a hot summer day are the waterfalls at Sasso, a hamlet on the picturesque road between Città di Castello and Pietralunga. The waterfalls cascade through a series of large pools where you can swim and cool off from the heat. TheRead more →
Sunday Lunch In Siena At L'Osteria A couple of weeks ago we ate at one of my favourite trattorie, L'Osteria in Siena. l'Osteria is located a short walk north of the Campo, Siena's main piazza. If you follow signs to the church of San Francesco you areRead more →