Wine Archive

Gli Sfizi di Casa Bleve, involtini, mozzarella, and steak tartare.

Casa Bleve is among the most finest places in Rome to drink wine, their elegant dining room a perfect pair with their spectacular cellar. But it is the down-to-earth atmosphere in spite of it all that makes me love this place. (more…)

When it’s hot in Rome, survival instincts kick in. City dwellers tend to stay indoors, with their shutters closed tight against the blazing sun. (more…)

Tonarelli con bottarga at Le Mani in Pasta.

It has been a while since I updated the list of my favorite restaurants in Rome. Way back in May 2009 I published this post. A handful of these places are still valid, but others have closed or changed. Enjoy the new round up! (more…)

I get lots of emails from readers about dining in Rome. I have spent the last seven years eating way too much here and I’ve learned a lot in the process, often the hard way, so you don’t have to! Please feel free to add your own questions to (more…)

I gave Primo al Pigeto second chance. I went in with an open mind, a good attitude, and great company, but left disappointed, especially with the service, for a second and final time. My first visit was back in 2008 for the Cites of the Underworld (more…)

After the Paris Marathon, my friends and I headed down to Bordeaux for an age old remedy for sore muscles: copious amonts of red wine, melted cheese, and duck. It was my first time in the region and it was so different than what I had expected (more…)

Crémant de Bordeaux is a champagne style sparkling wine from France’s Bordeaux region. It comes in a range of dryness and sweetness and can be white or rosé. I drank this glass of brut rosé in the remains of a 14th century cloister in Saint-Émilion.

Yesterday I visited the cellar at Chez Dumonet, my new favorite restaurant in Paris. It’s a place I could happily be imprisoned for life, subsisting off the thousands of Crémant de Bordeaux, Pauillac, Margaux, and Sauternes and slivers of (more…)

On a trip to Venice last week, I had lunch at La Cantina on Strada Nuova. This little enoteca on Cannaregio’s main street is a meeting point for locals who stop by throughout the day to throw back a glass of prosecco with a (more…)

My first formal introduction to Roero Arneis was at Cantina Vietti in the summer of 2006. I was in the Langhe region of Piedmont researching food and wine and I arranged a visit to the cantina in Castiglione Falletto. When we (more…)