How A Small Company Finds Intriguing and Unique In-Roads to Success
Anne Bousquet – Al Ameri, CEO, Partner THE STAGE IS SET: Meeting Anne Bousquet – Al Ameri, of Domaine Bousquet, Mendoza Argentina, at Barn Diva in Healdsburg, brought not only the distance of the two hemispheres closer together, but it also connected many more fascinating dots during the meeting, of how to succeed against all […]
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 […]
Pairing Tuscan Wines with Tuscan Cuisine ~ Day 1
GUEST: I was a guest at Castello di Meleto, in Gaiole (the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany), as orchestrated by Michael Yurch, of The Bluest Sky Group. When we, as Americans, think of Italian cuisine, pasta immediately comes to mind, right? In a word association game, I say Italian food, and most people respond with […]
Wine of the Week: Georges Dubœuf Fleurie 2016 (Flower Label)
Sample: Quintessential Wines ~ Georges Dubœuf Fleurie 2016 (Flower Label) PREFACE HEART ~ THE WINERY: This information came from an interview I had with Franck Duboeuf SCIENCE ~ WINEMAKING ~ From the winery SOUL ~ Jo’s notes Photo Credit: ricochet64 ~ Chapel of Saint Pierre in Beaujolais with Mont Brouilly World Region ~ A.O.C. FLEURIE, FRANCE HEART Fleurie is […]
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 […]
The Benedictine Monks Are Smiling ~ Their Abby is Now Chianti’s Castello di Meleto… a Wine Company
Wine Philology: Wine History I was the guest of Castello di Meleto in Gaiole ~ In the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany. Hosted by Antonia Caserta (sales manager) [PHOTO: Historical image from the Castello di Meleto website] Forget your daddy’s straw basket candle holder, dripping with memories. Castello di Meleto in the Chianti region of Tuscany has gone way upscale sophisticated and […]
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 […]
Castello di Meleto: Gaiole in Chianti – Tuscany, The Adventure Begins with a View From the Bluest Sky
[PHOTO: Antonia Caserta of Castello di Meleto. All other images in this story were taken by Jo Diaz.] Day 1 – Flew into Rome as a guest of both Castello di Meleto in Gaiole ~ In the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany and Colonnara Viticultori in Cupramontana ~ In the Castelli di Jesi region of Le Marche […]
I’m so old that… Boutique Winery Just Doesn’t Cut It
I remember poodle skirts, bouffant hair, cotton candy, putrid pink, heavy perfume, and it all came under the word “boutique.” That word – boutique – is now fingernails screeching down a blackboard, so when you call your winery a “boutique” winery… Artisan, it’s so sophisticated… It lets the listener know that you take yourself craft […]
