Giro d’Ombra: Cinque Terre best wines + How to be Italian + Finding purpose in Venice 

Cinque Terre Wine Picks: The Best for Drinking Now

Every year I travel to the Cinque Terre (how to say it) to taste the region’s newly released wines, particularly the local white wine that goes by the name of Cinque Terre Bianco DOC.

The winemakers of the Cinque Terre are heralding 2016 as a great vintage, with a warm summer and early fall that helped with the maturity of the grapes.

Here are my tasting notes for 8 of the local wines that really show off what the region can do – and at a fair price, too.

7 easy steps to becoming Italian.

It’s quite easy, really.

Fausto Puglisi, one of Italy’s hottest fashion designers based in Milan, makes it seem so simple with just 7 steps to becoming an Italian. Or just act like one.

#7 is the real deal. If you can’t do that, well, you’re definitely not Italian.

Finding purpose through travel in Italy.

Travel to Italy can transform people’s lives.

Countless authors have chronicled how a single visit to that ancient land gave them clarity of purpose, a point in time where the past is put into perspective and the future is embraced.

Jeff Goins, an author who lives the same hectic life that so many of us do, reached his ah-HA moment of clarity & purpose when he set foot on a Vaporetto in Venice. Here is Jeff’s story.

Shop talk.
These are busy days in my online shop with the final shipments in the cool warehouse, and Italian wine fans ordering up new releases of pinks, whites, and light-bodied reds.

This is the perfect time for refreshing white and rosato wines for cooling down after work, pairing with grilled shrimp, tender fish, and cool salads, or just enjoying with good friends on a Friday night. Reds are still flying off the shelf for those going for grilled meats, but lighter reds are finding their way next to grilled salmon, pork chops, and roast chicken.

Here are five of my favorite (and delicious) summer drinking options — come browse around my shop and see what new wines might tempt you for summer sipping:

• Burlotto Verduno Elatis Rosato 2016 — $17.5
  This rosé delights your eyes with a vibrant red hue, then your nose with brambly raspberries and warm cherries, then your mouth with all that and strawberries, too. We throw a party and pop some corks as soon as this arrives, direct from Italy.
• Ciù Ciù Pecorino Merlettaie 2016 — $17.5
  Pecorino? Isn’t that a cheese? Well, yes it is, but it’s also a white grape that grows in the Marche region of Italy. Ciù Ciù (pronounced “choo-choo”) makes a fresh white that’s perfect for the summer, with scents of ripe yellow apple and a touch of banana, notes of toasted nuts, and I find a touch of spiciness of ginger and white pepper on the finish. And yes, Pecorino wine goes with Pecorino cheese. Pair it up!
• Burlotto Verduno Pelaverga — $24
  Lighter reds are awesome with summer meals, like grilled salmon and shrimp, grilled chops and roast chicken. Fabio’s Burlotto Pelaverga is the perfect match, with a captivating melange of red cherries, crabapple, hints of red roses, a touch of clove and allspice – This is delicious stuff, very fresh and the best provenance you’ll find.
• Marion Amarone 2012 — $72
  Coming in at 16% alcohol, this one is big and bad — and perfect paired with meaty steaks grilled over hot coals. While it’s a little spendy, Marion Amarone never disappoints and your guests will be asking for more when the bottle goes empty. Bursting with blackberry jam, blueberry compote, amarena cherry, with fragrant violets on the nose, this has a super-long finish.
• Cantina Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà 2015 — $59
  Cinque Terre fans will swoon over this one. If you’ve been to Vernazza, Monterosso, or one of the other 3 towns, you probably know this amazing sweet wine. Bottles of the 2015 vintage of Sciacchetrà (how to say it) are on their way from Italy, set to land by mid-September. Baked apricots, dried figs, candied orange and a hint of Mediterranean herbs make this a stunning sweet wine. I always sell out, so order your bottles now.

Are you enjoying your Giro d’Ombra? If so, please forward this email to a friend and suggest they sign up for their own weekly shot of Italian fun.

Cheers!
Michael

P.S. — Ever heard of fountain diving? As crazy as it might sound, the Italians have been bracing for (and dealing with) tourists taking a dive into many of the famous (and ancient) fountains sprinkled around Rome and other major cities. It’s really hot there, but swimming in the public fountain? LOL! Check out this NY Times article on the new tourist trend in cooling off.  ~Michael