TRAVEL & WINE: A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN

WELL I'M BACK AND I'M HOPING YOU ALL WILL BE FOLLOWING ME WEEKLY AS SOON AS I GET MY ACT TOGETHER….! I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO TALK ABOUT TRAVEL AND WINE SINCE SUMMER IS AROUND THE CORNER AND WANDERLUST IS IMMINENT…HAVING FLOWN TO VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD I FEEL LIKE A WELL SEASONED TRAVELER BUT I'VE GOT AT LEAST TEN MORE PLACES ON MY BUCKET LIST.

NOW I KNOW EVERYONE IS NOT AS CRAZY AS I AM ABOUT WINE..I USUALLY HAVE A CASE SHIPPED WITH MY LUGGAGE, THAT WAY I'VE GOT WINE WITH ME, THINK OF IT LIKE A SECURITY BLANKET..HA.AND IF THEY LOSE MY LUGGAGE I CAN WEAR THE BOTTLES.. IT'S NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM, YOU JUST PAY THE AIRLINE FEE.. EXCEPT IN ISTANBUL…WE WERE TOLD TO OPEN THE CASE AND THEY SAID, 

"OH, YOU CAN ONLY TAKE 6 BOTTLES INTO THE COUNTRY WHAT A SCAM! HE CONFISCATED 6 SO IT WAS LIKE SOPHIE'S CHOICE WHICH ONES DO I KEEP?? 

" YOU CAN PICK THEM UP WHEN YOU LEAVE" RIGHT..NEVER SAW IT AGAIN 

I'LL BET CALIFORNIA WINE WAS LIKE BLACK MARKET THERE, WELL I WASN'T GOING TO FIGHT IT…. HAVE YOU BEEN TO A TURKISH PRISON?

 LOVE MY WINE BUT NOT WORTH GOING TO THE GALLOWS FOR IT! NOW YOU FIGURE WHEN YOU TRAVEL,ESPECIALLY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND MIDDLE EAST THAT YOU WOULD HAVE GREAT VINO AND BY ALL MEANS YOU WILL…WITH OVER 5 THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF WINE MAKING IN THESE ANCIENT CULTURES…THE WINES YOU'LL BE DRINKING, EVEN THE TABLE WINES ARE EXCELLENT! FROM THE BRUNELLO'S AND MONTEPULCIANO'S OF TUSCANY TO THE RIOJA'S AND TEMPRANILLOS OF SPAIN AND THE MOSHCOFILERO-MANTINIA OF GREECE..AND EVEN IN EGYPT, THIS FASCINATING AND HISTORICAL COUNTRY HAD AN AMAZING CHARDONNAY, DONE IN THE FRENCH STYLE WHICH HAD A GREAT MINERAL QUALITY INSTEAD OF BUTTERY.IF YOU'RE EVER IN CAIRO ASK FOR "CAPE BAY CHARDONNAY"! 

NOTHING LIKE A GLASS OF WINE AT THE BASE OF THE PYRAMIDS..OR FLOATING ALONG THE NILE! 

                                          

                                      

CHIN UP!!!

                                              

SANTORINI 2007 WITH MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER, MARINA

                                         A SOPHIA LOREN MOMENT IN GREECE 2007

                                                  MY PERSONAL WINE SPRINGS

FRIDA WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!

                                      LOS CABOS- THE ONE AND ONLY PALMILLA


NOW IF YOUR HEADED SOUTH OF THE BORDER BY ALL MEANS STOP IN CABO! THERE'S BEAUTIFUL HOTELS, SUNSETS, GLORIOUS FOOD AND PEOPLE! 

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE IS THE ONE AND ONLY PALMILLA,WHICH IS A 10 STAR RESORT..IF THEY GAVE OUT 10 STARS..I'VE CONSUMED MY FAIR SHARE OF WINE IN THIS HACIENDA HIDEAWAY, LOOK THERE I AM WITH MY OWN PERSONAL SPRINGS, THEY THINK OF EVERYTHING. I ACTUALLY HAD AN AMAZING SAUVIGNON BLANC FROM MEXICO, I LIKED IT SO MUCH THE WAITER LEFT ME THE BOTTLE…

SO UNTIL NEXT TIME I SAY ADIOS, BUONA SERA, AND IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE..!

                 MY FEATURED WINE IS TESORO DELLA REGINA- PINOT GRIGIO 2012 

Elegant, Apple, Peach, Medium-bodied

Valdadige, Veneto, Italy- Crisp apple and peach notes combine with hints of fresh orchard blossoms and a mineral backbone to energize this stunning Pinot Grigio from the heart of Italy's Veneto. An elegant match with light fare, shellfish and sushi.

Welcome to the Wine Contessa

Wine Contessa speaks....greetings to all my future friends and critics! I'm but a humble woman” NOT REALLY” and consumer of wine joyously and without any reserve..it all began when I was but a teenager at my grandparents' they were from Italy and you know what that means?? well for those of you who are not privey to the Italian culture it means homemade vino and this was no “dago” red either! My grandfather made an amazing Vermentino that I would drink out of small glasses complete with his provolone and hand cured salumi!! WOW I was the luckiest kid I knew, developing a sophisticated palate at such a young age...great food and wine is there anything better...once ruined by my upbringing I was forced into the american public to seek out and find wines that were affordable and worth drinking , not an easy task in 1968-70's...for those of you who remember the attack of the 'ROSE'S pronounced like Joses not roses...I still to this day can't look at the” new” roses without cringing, MATEUS anyone? THE GREAT NEWS WAS THERE WAS A WINE STORM BREWING UP IN NAPA VALLEY....something the world had never seen and the French were saying..mon dieu!

And when the Napa wines particularly CHATEAU MONTELENA chardonnay and STAGS LEAP cabernet won over the French in Paris tastings, CALIFORNIA BECAME A WORLD player or you could say their fate was sealed{like a great bottle of wine}!! This is just the beginning of the many fun and informative wine stories I hope to share with you! So as the sun sets in the west” IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE” I reach for my glass and pour the nectar of the gods...SALUTE

me at 30 (circa 1981)

my grandparents ~ Nonno & Nonna Fini

                   
                                           Me now age 63 (look how wine has preserved me! )

                                                          Not bad for an old broad 

 Drinking wine is definitely not about all the pomp and ceremony that goes with it but it can't hurt, Riedal glass anyone?? REALLY, when I think of all the absolutely horrid wine that was consumed in the early days, who could resist BLUE NUN...OMG, even more recently the ubiquitous 'WHITE ZINFANDELS” yuck..if I've offended anyone i'm sorry But I won't apologize...what were you thinking??      Sincerely, your WINE CONTESSA

                                                       
                                                    WINE PICK OF THE WEEK!
                                           My go to cabernet is JOEL GOTT 815 "2011"
                                                    IT'S A TOP TASTING CAB !!!
                                  This wine will hold it's own up against wines twice it's price!!  
                   Typically $13-16 a bottle but most stores like Bevmo or Total Wine will price match!