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The Italian Abroad Wine Blog is a wine blog and diary where I share my thoughts, primarily about Italian wine and food, but also on wine, food, and travel in general. I founded Italyabroad.com in 2003 and have been living abroad for over 20 years. Coming from an Italian winemaking family, I was introduced to wine at a very early age. While my roots are in Italian wine, I appreciate and enjoy good wine from all over the world, alongside great food and the joys of travel. My posts often weave these passions together.
To help you better understand Italian wines, we've created a series of Italian wine regions maps that show DOC and DOCG wines, their origins and the grapes they are made of, including your favorite Italian wines. I’ve also written a post on the Italian wine appellation system explaining and demystifying the Italian wine classification system and what it really means for wine lovers and enthusiasts.
Additionally, I host a YouTube channel , where you can watch me taste some of our wines and answer your questions about Italian wines and grapes. From the meaning of DOC to what makes an orange wine, we cover it all.
I hope you enjoy reading this wine blog! Feel free to reach out with any questions.
Salute
Andrea
Our supermarkets’ shelves are full of extra virgin olive oils “made in Italy”, the Italian flag is always on the front of the bottle so that consumers can see it, but the origin, the provenance of the oil or olives is never there, it is always either on the back, if there is a back, or on the side, in small fonts
Pasta is a staple of Italian cuisine and there is a huge variety of pasta shapes and sauces, with plenty of very little known local dishes, however, with the rules above, anyone will be able to cook a tasty pasta dish
Last night if you have, like I did, watched Panorama on BBC1, it was about “Britain’s Drink Problem”, how do we solve it? We have learned from history that prohibition doesn’t work, and minimum pricing in a way is part of that approach, so it cannot be the solution, it can help temporarily until a permanent solution is found, but to solve the problem we need much more. We don’t need laws or taxes, we need education and get rid of the 3L strong cider or any other similar drink. We need to educate people, change the drinking culture
Popular Italian wines, what are the most popular Italian wines? This is the question I often get asked and unfortunately there isn’t a single and straight forward answer. It all depends, but before even attempting to answer the question, we need to clarify what we intend for popular, the most famous, the most sold or the most expensive Italian wines?
If you haven't heard or read it yet, Prosecco rose’ will be soon making its appearance on our supermarkets, and not, shelves and I am certain, many wine drinkers can’t wait to buy it. Prosecco Rose is not to be confused with any sparkling rose’ wine currently being sold, Prosecco Rose will have written “Prosecco Rose” on the label and I am expecting it to be a DOC wine
The problem with bland Italian, or any country for that matter, wines and their bad reputation is due to supermarkets. Supermarkets buying are based on prices, they may pick the best of the bunch, but still within their budget which is not at lot, and in difficult or bad vintages the “not a lot” is even less, so it doesn’t really matter the vintage, because wines will always be average at their best
Does vintage matter? Yes, vintage does affect, for all reasons above and in different ways, the quality and the value of wine and in great vintages, the best and most famous wine makers will have prohibitive prices for the majority, but there will be plenty of less known wineries with more approachable prices
What is the difference between Chianti and Chianti Classico? Is Chianti Classico better than the “normal” Chianti? Which is the Chianti with the black rooster on the label? These are only some of the questions that I get asked when tasting Chiantis. Lets start answering them
It is no secret that Italian wine is very confusing and it is often a matter for wine experts. There are wines with names that have nothing to do with the grapes they are made of, and wines named after the town or the area where they are produced. On top of that, the appellation system allows “discretion” in the wine making process, leaving the winemakers to choose grapes, percentages and type of ageing, so that even when the name on the label is the same, the wine in the bottle is not, so that two Chiantis are not the same.
Italian craft beer in the UK is not yet widely known and appreciated, there is very little available in terms of styles. Italian craft beer is exciting, yes, it is slightly more expensive than the other craft beers, but it is certainly the most exciting at the moment, in Italy craft beer is still driven by passion and love for the beer
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