When Opportunity Knocked ~ Siena Italy Was at the Door
[ALL PHOTO: Jo Diaz, unless noted otherwise. Shop in Sienna, Italy] PART 1 ~ CULTURE LEADS TO WINE AND FOOD In October of 2018, a door was opened for me by Bluest Sky Group, when I was invited to join a group of wine professionals traveling in Italy. We would be exploring the central wine regions of […]
Top Wine and Spirits Books of 2018 ~ Belonging in Any Great Wine (Book) Library
Each year I enjoy putting a list together of the best wine books I read through the year. This year is no exception, and these books are each fabulous. Here are my 2018 Wine and Spirits Books, in alphabetical order. Happy shopping for your wine lovers. Regardless of the level of knowledge and interest, if you […]
Romancing the Grape ~ Relationship Selling for Hospitality Professionals
SAMPLE COPY from Lynda R. Paulson ~ PHOTO: Jo Diaz Romancing the Grape ~ Relationship Selling for Hospitality Professionals by Lynda R. Paulson should be mandatory reading for all winery tasting room personnel. This is always how I sold wine, while working in a tasting room, because my studies and background are in PR. That said, […]
Do You Know Verdicchio and Le Marche, Italy Are Quietly Famous?
[PHOTO: Autumn at Colonnara Viticultori] Some might even say it’s a best kept secret, but I don’t mind letting this secret out of the bag… Not to worry if you don’t know either Verdicchio or Marche. I didn’t know anything about the alluring Verdicchio grape, either, before my trip to the land where it reigns […]
Colonnara Viticultori in Cupramontana ~ In the Castelli di Jesi region of Le Marche
[PHOTO: Jo Diaz – Cupramontana Headquarters] To understand wine, first we need understand its culture and people. The first time I wrote that was in 2009, just prior to a trip to Portugal. This thought was just reaffirmed, as I’m newly returned from an Italian adventure, in the epicenter of the Renaissance. This story is about […]
Château Pétrus Drives Record Breaking $1.5 Million Fine Wine Auction at Heritage
PHOTO: Heritage Auctions Today, I’m wearing my publisher hat, not my writer’s one. The following is a press release from Heritage Auctions. Having not attended, but having a keen interest in what’s happening in the world of wine, I see two distinct categories of who’s buying wine for what purposes. The first one is people who […]
Welcome to Hungary with Count Karolyi’s Grüner Veltliner 2016 ~ Wine of the Week
Sample wines provided by Quintessential Wines ~ Count Karolyi Grüner Veltliner 2016 PREFACE – PART 2 ~ WHITE WINES My structure: World Regions ~ FIRST HEART ~ THE WINERY: info is coming from the company’s own statements I can’t make up their history Nor am I to try SCIENCE ~ WINEMAKING I can’t make up their […]
Rutherford Dust Brought Karen MacNeil Squarely Into My Headlights, Now Into Yours
Most of you know Karen MacNeil as the author of The Wine Bible. Please appreciate it took her 10 years to write this tome, and was without the luxury of the Internet for reading and research. She’s a walking wine encyclopedia, and you have a chance to get to know her a little bit better.
Earth Day in Wine Country ~ You are what you eat AND DRINK
You are what you eat AND DRINK… Why have we missed stating the obvious DRINK part for so long? As you think about this question, consider where we’d be today, if – in the 60s – we would have chanted this concept, with “drink” also included. Then, our children would be further ahead in their […]
Why Are Palates So Eurocentric on the East Coast? Easy Question
I believe I may have found an answer, through my 25 years of observations, visiting both parts of the country extensively, by living on both coasts – each for extended periods of time, and having been to Europe, to see that part of life, too. Here’s what stuck me as pretty true, as I began […]
