Wine Blog
"Juicy Tales by Jo Diaz"

Honestly, our American culture, in this May of 2019, has so drastically changed from when I was, say, 5-years old, in Maine. This seems unreal to me, now, but I do remember the first TV that came into my home. My dad was an early adopter of electronic gadgets. We had the first TV in […]

Tags: astello di Meleto, Bluest Sky Import Group, Bricco dell'Uccellone by Braida, Castelli di Jesi region of Le Marche, Castello di Meleto, Chianti Classico, Colonnara Viticultori, Franciacorta DOCG, Fratelli Berlucchi Brut 25, Gaiole, Italian Passeggiata, Italy, Le Marche, Marche, Michael Yurch, Piazza del Campo, Ristorante Guido., Sienna, The Brunello di Montalcino Biondi-Santi, Tuscany

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 […]

Tags: agronomist Giovanni Maria Farina, Antonia Caserta, BORGAIO IGT TOSCANA ROSATO 2017, BORGAIO IGT TOSCANA ROSSO 2017, Castello di Meleto, Chianti Classico, Gaiole, Meleto Chianti Classico DOCG 2016, Michael Yurch, Sformato di verdure, Tuscany, Vin Santo, winemaker Matteo Menicacci

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 […]

Tags: Benedictine Monks, Bistecca di pollo fritto, Castello di Meleto, Chef Giuliano Bugialli, Gaiole, Gaiole. Chianti Classico region. Tuscany, Giuliano Bugialli's Foods of Italy, Italy, Kevin Zraly, Michael Yurch, Pairing Tuscan Wines with Tuscan Cuisine, Puglia, The Bluest Sky Group, Tuscan Cuisine, Tuscan Menus, Tuscan wines

[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 […]

Tags: Antonia Caserta, Camilla Curcio, Castelli di Jesi, Castelli di Jesi region of Le Marche, Castello di Meleto, Castello di Meleto in Gaiole, Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico region of Tuscany, Colonnara Viticultori, Colonnara Viticultori in Cupramontana, Cupramontana, Delfim Costa, Gaiole, Italy, Le Marche, Mercury, Michael Apstein, Michael Yurch, Michele Contartese, Mick Yurch, Palio di Siena, Ribollita, Ristorante Guido., Siena, Siena Cathedral, Tuscany

[IMAGE to the right: purchased] Wine is infinitely more intriguing than most other balls in the air we juggle during life, especially for the curious. Much of our inquisitiveness will be addressed within the pages of Kevin Zraly‘s 2018 edition of his Windows on the World Complete Wine Course. This is most especially true for […]

Tags: Bluest Sky Group, Castello di Meleto, Cessna 172, Chianti Classico region of Tuscany, Complete Wine Course, Gaiole, Janet Zimmerman, Kevin Zraly, Michael Yurch, Sukhoi Superjet 100, Windows on the World, Windows on the World Complete Wine Course

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 […]

Tags: Aragonese, Bluest Sky Group, Castello di Meleto, Chiantishire, Conception Abbey Website, Florence, Gaiole, Guelphs and the Ghibellines, Igers Toscana, ine Philology, Italy, Medici War in 1529, Michael Yurch, Saint Benedict of Nursia, Siena, Wine History

[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 […]

Tags: Ancona, Apennini Mountain Range, Bluest Sky Group, Casa Blu B&B, Castelli di Jesi, Castello di Meleto, Chianti Classico, Colonnara Viticultori, Cora Tabarrini, Cupramontana, Emiliano Bernardi, Fabriano's Museo della Carta, Gaiole, Grotte di Frasassi, Le Marche, Monti Sibillini National Park., Pesaro, Ristorante La Pagaia, Riviera del Conero, Rossini, Siena Roman Catholic Cathedral, Tuscany, Verdicchio

[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 […]

Tags: Agronomo/enologist, Antonia Caserta, Benedictine Monks, Bluest Sky Group, Castello di Meleto, Castello di Meleto in Gaiole, Chianti, Colonnara Viticultori, Cupramontana, Dr. Michael Apstein, Gaiole, Giovanni Maria Farina, Golden Ram Imports, Golden Tulip Hotel in Rome, Grape The Wine Company, Italy, Kevin Begos, Kevin Zraly, Matteo Menicacci, Michael (Mick) Yurch, Siena, Tasting The Past, Tuscan, Updated & Expanded Edition, Windows on the World, Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: Revised, Winemaker