LuxeSF has announced it’s Rising Wine Star Award recipients
LuxeSF, formerly the Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco, has announced its Rising Wine Stars Award recipients for 2019. The ceremony was held during their Seventh Annual Wineries Boot Camp, at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville. This was in the presence of over 300 wine industry marketing, sales and hospitality influentials, representing more than 100 […]
When It’s Traditional and It’s in Tuscany ~ Day 2
I was the guest of Castello di Meleto in Gaiole ~ In the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany. Hosted by Antonia Caserta (sales manager), their winemaker Matteo Menicacci, and their agronomist Giovanni Maria Farina. Antonia translated, and I was also in the company of Michael Yurch (Bluest Sky Group) and Michael Apstein from Apstein On […]
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.
