The Italian abroad wine blog is my wine blog and diary. I founded Italyabroad.com in 2003 and have been living abroad for almost 20 years and this blog is a collection of my thoughts mainly about Italian wine and food, but also wine and food in general. I come from an Italian wine making family and got acquainted with wine at a very early age, but I don't just love Italian wine, I love any good wine and enjoy plenty of it, as well as good food and travelling, and often my posts include a bit of everything.
To help you understand Italian wines, we have designed a series of Italian wine regions maps featuring DOC and DOCG wines showing the origins and the grapes making your favourite Italian wines. I also wrote a post on the Italian wine appellation system explaining and demystifying the Italian wine classification system and what it really means for Italian wine lovers and wine drinkers in general.
Lastly, we have a Youtube channel where you can watch me tasting some of our wines and answer your questions about Italian wines and grapes, from the real meaning of DOC to what is an orange wine.
Hope you enjoy reading this wine blog and please get in touch if you have any question.
Andrea
It has been a couple of weeks since my last post and I have been wanting to write, but despite being in self isolation and having plenty of time, I can’t find anything to write about. Actually I do, there is plenty to write and talk about, it is just not about wine or food.
This post is about our suppliers/producers/friends, the people behind our products, the people behind the products we all love, these are small producers, artisans, farmers, winemakers. They are the people that, with or without the coronavirus, have no choice but to go to work, the show must go on, nature doesn’t understand or wait for the virus to disappear, if they don’t, next year they will be out of business and unable to provide food for their family
“Hi Guys, just a little message, I bought some sublime brunello from you 8 years ago or so, still in my cellar, tonight I found one you had recommended me years ago. So opened it and it’s beautiful! 8 years in my wine cooler”. So when you wonder what are the best Italian wines, always remember, that there are several sources and they change every year.
The Italian craft beer brand abroad is nonexistent, beer drinkers associate Italian beer with Peroni or Moretti, owned by Asahi, and more recently Ichnusa, owned by Heineken, they do not seem to be aware that not only these brands are not Italian but they are not drunk in Italy
Make 2020 the year of visiting a small winery, far or close, here or abroad, it doesn’t matter, you can join one of our wine tours or go on your own, knock at the door of the first winery you encounter on your way and talk to the people working there, ask questions, visit the vineyards, just do it and wine will never be the same again
I have tasted plenty of orange wines and it is hard to find good ones, it is now a worldwide trend and everyone is trying to jump on the wagon, exactly like sparkling wines, properly made orange wines are difficult to find because are more difficult to make, finding the balance between tannins and freshness is an art, but just like any other great wine, when properly made, are amazing wines
Being a wine buyer today is not anymore about travelling the world discovering great wines, it is about sitting on a desk and taste dozens of wines, but it is certainly not about margins and profits, I never wanted to be an accountant, I may be romantic, but this is what I do.
No or low alcohol drinks is a trend and as such, as a business we can't ignore it and we are not, however, no alcohol wine or spirits is something Italians don’t do, except Peroni which we all know it is not Italian, and the ones I tried, not Italian, were not good
At Italyabroad.com we've always campaigned and supported a healthy attitude towards alcohol, we never advertised or promoted cheap wine or alcohol in general, we always said less is better, same for food, we have a clear manifesto, even when goes against our financial interests
Grappa is the most Italian of all Italian spirits, obtained from a waste product, the pomace, the left over from the wine making process, was originally the poor people ‘s drink. Rich people would make and drink the wine and give the left over to the poor people for them to make their own drink, grappa, drink that until recently, did not have a great reputation amongst spirits lovers
Italian news, tips and offers before anyone else
These cookies are completely safe and secure and will never contain any sensitive information and are only used by Italyabroad.com and the trusted partners we work with
Before we say ciao, why not join our newsletter & stay up to date on everything happening on planet Italyaborad.com