• Ciao Deb, and thanks for this great write-up on Milano. I have to say, I’m not as experienced cruising Milan as you are, and it’s really nice to have these pointers.

    I have visited a few great restaurants there, especially the osterie and trattorie that dot the city. Just for fun, here are three of my favorites. All of them require a quick call…[Read more]

  • Another great recommendation, thanks Laurel!

    Cheers

    Michael

  • Hi Nicolas — it’s available in Italy, which makes it hard to get shipped here to the States.  You can contact the folks at the Consorzio or you may be able to find something on Amazon.it (which ships to the States at a fair price).

    I did check into buying the 3D versions of the maps (they’re available in Italy and you see them at all of the m…[Read more]

  • Ciao Scott — there are a number of producers you can visit that are smaller and have very distinctive styles. I’d suggest some of these to get you started:

    • Podere le Ripi — very serious Brunello maker with some amazing natural wines, ask for Sebastian.
    • Fattoi — More traditional producer with excellent price/value for their Brunello. I…

    [Read more]

  • Michael Horne changed their profile picture 6 years, 5 months ago

  • Fantastic Roman Food on dalluva.com

    Ciao everybody:

    I’ve had many requests for some of my favorite restaurants in Rome, and I thought I’d share my “favorite eight” with fellow travelers.

    I visit Rome a few times a year, visiting friends, coffee roasters, and just enjoying time in the Eternal City. I try to focus on uber-local Osterias and Trattorias that create wonderful…[Read more]

  • The Giro d’Ombra Newsletter
    Issue: 2017.09.02
    Get personalized newsletters from us on delicious Italian wines,
    tasty Italian food & Italy travel tips, delivered right to your […]

  • Buying wine online used to be scary. “What if the wine never shows up?” “What happens to my credit card number once I’ve made the purchase?”

    There’s no need to worry, these days it’s really quite […]

  • Stunning Dolomite mountains in the Alpe dei Siusi – credit

    I’ve known Laurel and Ric Barton for over 17 years and marveled at their ex-pat adventures in Italy. Using Rome as a home base, they explored […]

  • Hi jengray282 —  you might want to check out this post for some ideas to consider for your trip. You’ll find some winery and restaurant recommendations in there.

    Also, John has some good recommendations you might consider as well on his post (scroll down a bit).

    My favorite restaurant in Chianti is Osteria Le Panzanelle just outside of…[Read more]

  • Beloved Trattoria Gianni Franzi in Vernazza -- great logo, eh?

    Gianni Franzi, Vernazza, Cinque Terre

    If you’ve been to the Cinque Terre and visited Vernazza, you may have run across a Trattoria on the breakwater called Gianni Franzi (they also run a patchwork of fine rooms as a hotel).

    There are several good restaurants in Vernazza along the breakwater, including Gambero RossoTaverna del C…[Read more]

  • The Giro d’Ombra Newsletter
    Issue: 2017.08.18
    Get personalized newsletters from us on delicious Italian wines,
    tasty Italian food & Italy travel tips, delivered right to your […]

    [audio src="https://www.dalluva.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/giro-dombra-pronunciation.mp3"]

  • credit

    The Cinque Terre (how to say it), literally “the Five Lands” that includes the towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso, are a string of rustic villages clinging to t […]

    • Hi, Frank! You’re thinking of Sciacchetrà, the local sweet wine that is outstanding. It’s tough to spell and say, but here’s how you pronounce it. I didn’t do a review of it here, but I have some bottles on their way from Italy and will do a write-up of the Sciacchetrà 2015 vintage when it arrives.

      If you are interested in picking some up when the shipment arrives (around mid-September), you can find more info here.

      Cheers!
      Michael

  • Junk food is here to stay. Sometimes the moment just calls for a tasty Twinkie. Or maybe a tube of Pringles potato chips. And then there’s Cheez Whiz1. Everybody eats these junky, mass-manufactured foods, even […]

    • Thanks Larry — you’re right, and just like with junk food, many drinkers of cheap wine are completely unaware of what’s going into their wine. Even worse, the wineries are not required to list their ingredients (unlike all other food).

      Blissful ignorance isn’t necessarily a good thing.

      Cheers.
      Michael

  • Michael Horne wrote a new post 7 years ago

    One of the best things about Italy is the huge number of quality wines you can find at remarkably low prices.

    While a good quality California wine from Napa or Sonoma will run you $30-$50 or more, you can […]

    • Hi Tony — you have a couple of options for finding these wines.

      1. Call your local wine shop or liquor store (if they sell wine) to see if they can get it in. Usually they’ll have a list of importers they can check with. You can often find the name of the importer on the winery’s website. To find the winery, just google the name of the winery + Italy and it should come up in the list.

      2. The faster, easier way is to check online on Wine Searcher and have the wine shipped directly to you from an online wine shop. It’s pretty simple, just search for the wine and select one of the retailers. If they come up in the list, the retailer is required to have it available for purchase.

      I’ll be stocking a number of these Top 30 this year, and I’m coordinating a shipment now. If you’d like me to keep you in the loop on new Value Wines coming in, you can sign-up here.

      Cheers
      Michael

    • Hi Ken — yep, the Wine-Searcher app for iPhone and Android is a handy one to have.

      Cheers.
      Michael

  • I love Venice.

    Venezia may have become overrun by tourists, but I love making a regular trek to the watery city. What better time than at the annual celebration of Carnevale?

    While checking out some Facebook posts on the Venetian 17-day celebration leading up to Fat Tuesday, I ran across this cool video (dripping with credits…

    [Read more]

  • I love Venice.

    Venezia may have become overrun by tourists, but I love making a regular trek to the watery city. What better time than at the annual celebration of Carnevale?

    While checking out some Facebook posts on the Venetian 17-day celebration leading up to Fat Tuesday, I ran across this cool video (dripping with credits and product…

    [Read more]

  • Ciao Mary — it looks like I can get this wine for you, and I have an upcoming order planned for March.

    I’ll send you an email to get a bit more info, like how many bottles you might want. Given that this is so hard to find & get into the USA, it’s worth stocking up to make it worthwhile.

    Chat soon!
    Cheers
    Michael

  • It was love at first sight when I first stepped foot in Milan, Italy, years ago, and the love affair continues till this day. And because of my wonderful experiences, I would like to share a few insights about this captivating city. If you have or have not visited this historical metropolis, I am sure you will find what I have to say a good…

    [Read more]

  • This is the first of my 3-part series on the remarkable journey that Italian wines make from the winemaker’s cantina all the way to your wineglass.

    Be sure to sign-up here and I’ll send you a note when I publi […]

    • Excellent & informative!

      • Thanks Vinnie — it’s an interesting topic, sure to trigger some talk on FB with folks in the wine trade. The 3-Tier system is here to stay, no doubt, with an entrenched group of importers and distributors whose future is intertwined well with the state alcohol control boards. As I say, they do some good things for the industry, but there is a steep price that wine drinkers have to pay for the “value add.”

        Some states are moving away for 3-Tier laws and enabling tighter connections between the winemakers and the winelovers, either with direct-to-consumer sales from wineries here in the states, or direct via the Importer who helps get good wine into the hands of the wine drinkers. There are some great Importers doing good things, one of my favorites (besides Dall’Uva;-) is K&L Wines in the SF bay area. They sell wines they source from distributors and importers AND sell wines they direct import from Italy. Good stuff.

        Cheers.
        Michael

  • Load More