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The saga of Cantina di Tortona in northwestern Italy’s Piemonte region is a story of tenacity and economic survival, both for winegrowers and a unique grape. Winegrowers collectively own the Cantina di Tortona as a cooperative. The unique grape is Timorasso. In 1931, the farmers and winegrowers of the Tortona hills in southeastern Piemonte faced […]

Pittsburgh wine enthusiasts finally have the kind of authentic wine bar they have long craved. Since late October 2024, when veteran restaurant professionals and wine sommeliers Tyler Borne (pictured above on the left) and Aaron Gottesman (pictured above on the right) launched Solera Wine Co. in Lawrenceville, the positive response and buzz has continued to

In Italy — no matter the region — meals customarily end with small cups of amaro, a traditional bittersweet herbal liqueur. In America, the amaro tradition has grown steadily in popularity, especially at accomplished, innovative Italian restaurants such as Bar Marco in the Strip District. Jason Renner, Bar Marco’s affable and famously bewhiskered bartender, champions

During the long days of COVID-19 lockdown, everybody had time to contemplate bringing dreams to fruition. Entrepreneur Diana Espinosa March and her husband, Ricardo March, used the time to lay the groundwork for launching Bacan Guaro, a modern take on aguardiente, a traditional clear spirit from Colombia. Born in northern Italy with Italian and Spanish 

When Euan Henderson, the manager of Scotland’s Speyburn Distillery, was a 10-year-old lad, his father, Iain, became distillery manager at Laphroaig Distillery. In 1989, the Henderson family moved to the windswept southwestern Scottish island of Islay (pronounced “EYE-la”), and it was there that Euan’s informal apprenticeship in Scotch whisky began. “It was a remote place

For sheer drama in winegrowing, look no further than Sicily’s Mount Etna. The volcano’s last major eruption in 1992 unleashed lava flows that buried vineyards and homes. Black smoke and ash from more recent but less serious eruptions have temporarily stopped air traffic. Accompanying earthquakes damaged stone-walled terraces in the vineyards. Nonetheless, intrepid winegrowers on

The southern Italian province of Campania offers many famous attractions. The volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, stands brooding over the city of Naples while the ruins of Pompeii recall the dramatic eruption in 79 A.D. The blue Bay of Naples and the precarious, winding cliffs of the Amalfi Coast provide beautiful vistas. And of course, Campania’s diverse,

Festive holiday spirits this year again brought fun opportunities to celebrate by sharing and enjoying delicious sparkling wines. But the best policy is always to have chilled bottles on hand for drinking throughout the year and not just on New Year’s Eve. Now is a particularly good time to go with French sparklers before inventories