How are YOU celebrating the Holidays? Whether pairing foods like potato latke or Grandma’s favorite Christmas cookie, this guide to pairing wine and food will help you choose a great Holiday wine for your table no matter what you celebrate. Inside you will find suggestions for not only full bodied red wines, or age worthy white wines, but also sparkling wines from Italy and sweet dessert wines. Pick out great tasting Christmas wines, wines to pair with Hannukah’s fried feasts and New Years Sparklers.

You want to give wine for gift, and you want it to be special, either something they don’t have already, or something that will surprise, and impress them, yet something that they will also like the taste of. That seems like a tall order for what seems like a simple task, especially with the myriad of wine selections out there.

We’ve made it easier for you to gift for wine lovers with our first wine gift guide, that we are introducing just in time for the holiday gifting season.

For the wine lover on your list, be it a friend, colleague, customer, family member, or significant other, use our wine and olive oil gift guide to find a wine in line with their wine taste preferences, whether it’s bold red wines, old world wine, natural wine, orange wines, rose wines, champagne style wines, pet nat wines, even EVOO, use our list to find the best wine for gift giving and build your own wine gift baskets.

Let’s get to know Eros Zanon, crafter of Italian pet nat wines from native Italian grapes in the Prosecco wine region ranging from well known Prosecco glera grape to the super rare Boschera. Read this interview of Eros, about his land & vineyards and his vision and project of making naturally sparkling, unfiltered wines following passion and tradition.

We may have discussed sweet wine pairing in the past… but never with a recipe for crostata like this before! A classic Italian pie that every Nonna has in her arsenal, the crostata is versatile enough that it can pair with both the sweet white Moscato d’Asti and the sweet red Brachetto d’Acqui. How? Well come inside to find out! Read the full article and get the authentic recipe from an Italian chef inside.

This is not a pot roast recipe from your grandma… but a beef roast recipe with a piedmontese cuisine flair. Explore the bold red Nizza barbera wine and enjoy it with this traditional Monferrato roast recipe. It has a Piemontese touch with a hazelnut gravy and a wine pairing that will wow at your next dinner, and warm you up as the days get colder heading into fall.

When one thinks of ‘Italian Food’… normally pasta is the first thing that comes to mind. Let’s explore some pasta dishes from the piedmontese cuisine of the Asti Monferrato (like mushroom pasta), and get the wine pairing to match (spoiler, a great barbera wine goes a long way).

Keep reading on to get our exclusive recipe for a mushroom sauce with fresh lasagnette from a Vero Chef living in Piedmont, Italy.

Explore the Monferrato on a journey through pots, pans, and plates. The Piedmontese cuisine based food culture of the Monferrato and Asti is as varied as the wines of Nizza Monferrato winery Ivaldi.

Try this traditional chicken salad recipe from a local chef in the Monferrato in Northern Italy, and discover this delicious wine pairing (hint is with a champagne style wine from the area). The combination of this recipe and wine is a great idea for your next lunch, brunch or party you’re planning!

Want to know how to make a wedding extra special from an award winning expert? Are you planning an important event and need to make it extra special?

Find out from woman-entrepreneur Debra Thompson, a Knot hall-of-famer and Best of Westchester Event Planner how to plan and make the most of the special day.

We have practical tips too from this expert on what wine to buy for wedding wine and how much, wedding favor and welcome gift ideas. Whether you are planning your own wedding or helping someone do it, read on to find out the latest trends and get expert tips.

Film fans may have seen (before he went Searching for Italy) Stanley Tucci unveiling a sumptuous masterpiece called Timpano in the 90s film, The Big Night. We know we sure wanted a piece watching that climatic scene!

So we went searching, and found the history of the dish is actually found in an Abruzzese dish called Timballo. We got the recipe from a real Abruzzese, Gaia, who shared her family recipe for Timballo di Teramo with us! And surprise, it is not at all as difficult as we thought to pull together, very simple in fact!

So, pour yourself a glass of natural abruzzese wine, and read on about how to create your own Timballo at home.

Discover with us another Abruzzese traditional recipe, Scrippelle ‘Mbusse, or thin Abruzzese crepes served in homemade broth. A classic from the winemaking Abruzzese family’s kitchen, the Febos, and around the countryside in Abruzzo, Italy, this simple dish is easy to whip up for a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner. Get the recipe inside!

We’ve explored the landscape of Abruzzo, Italy… We’ve talked with a family winery about winemaking in Abruzzo… Now it’s time to discover the foods and dishes of Abruzzo! A flavorful, yet simple, cuisine, the Abruzzese culinary traditions are centered around the heart of their livelihoods: farming, sheep herding and fishing. Discover with us some of these traditions, and get the Febo family recipe for Pallotte Cacio e Uova or Meatless Meatballs, easy to make and pairs great with Febo’s natural wines.

Grab a buta of nebbiolo vin, some sugar and eggs, and whip up some sambaiun for a quick dessert… or perhaps if you are feeling a little bit of goi for a galuperia! Wait… what?! This is kitchen talk in Piedmont, Italy what the locals speak in the local dialect in the Langhe.

In this article, get behind the scenes in a real trattoria’s kitchen, learning Italian and, better yet, Italian language food. Practice with this authentic Italian trattoria recipe for Zabaglione, an easy, creamy custard from the area.

Tender beef filet is one of the most prized cuts of meat, giving depth of flavor, tenderness and juiciness like few other cuts. It seems only fair then, to pair it with a King of Italian wine: Barolo. This recipe for Filetto al Barolo comes from one of the most favorite trattoria’s in the Langhe, Piedmont, Italy, and it pairs wonderfully with the Barolos of Aldo Clerico.

What to find the secrets to making a really good Risotto? Better yet, how about an authentic a recipe from a chef who works at one of the most favorite trattoria’s in the Langhe, Piedmont, Italy? It’s a fragrant purple risotto, made from Barolo winemaker, Aldo Clerico’s, red wines.

Confused about wine terminology, like natural wine, biodynamic wine, native yeast, col fondo, orange wine? While some terms are well defined, others can have alot of gray areas, so you’re not alone! When we seek out small, farm-to-glass wineries, we do vet them out based upon certain criteria. We put together this list of wine lingo that we use and are happy to share with you.

Never buy store-bought broth again with this easy, traditional Bolognese recipe passed down from generation to generation. Great to sip alone, or use a base for soups with pasta, like tortellini in brodo, this broth is delicious. Learn how to make a good broth, and pick out the right ingredients to make it tasty, and healthy too.

Ancient Rome has long inspired active imaginations with crazy banquets and exotic foods. Learn about ancient Romans customs, food and traditions and get a real recipe used in ancient Rome which will surprise you!

One might say the Sanzovo brothers Carlo and Fabio have Prosecco in their blood. After 2 generations of farming and making the bubby classic from Valdobbiadene, they have taken the reins of the family business. Read about their story, wines, and above all the love of their land.

Did you know that in the ‘olden times’ sparkling wine was not made intentionally? The bubbles would just appear in the spring after the wine was harvested and bottled. Hence where the ‘ancestral method’ of making wine came about. This style of winemaking is ‘all the buzz’ as of late with the popularity, especially amongst ‘wine explorers’, of pet nat and col fondo sparkling wines. Read up in this article.

What food should you serve with Prosecco?

A glass of a high quality, crisp prosecco is delicious with many food pairings.

Get food pairing ideas and our chef’s favorite risotto recipe in this article.