Meet Aldo Clerico, born into a family with vineyards that make some of the best red wines in the world, yet he was the first to make their own wine with them. What prompted him to take this initiative? How did he learn how to make wine? What are his secrets to making the really good Barolo wine? Get to know Aldo Clerico, his Barolo winery and exceptional red wines in this article.

This is the story of a Ukrainian woman, farm raised who winds up immigrating to Italy and heading up a winery in the mountains surrounding Modena, called Frignano. Upon meeting Irene Balim, we were struck by her commitment and passion towards the unknown native grape varieties in her area and to making traditional and natural styles of sparkling wine, trailblazing in the heart of Lambrusco land. This woman in wine and farm girl at heart has an inspiring story. Read it in her words in this exclusive interview with this woman winemaker.

We ‘get’ transitions in life, and are fascinated with sharing how people’s life journey takes them from 1 country to another and from 1 career to another. Learn about woman in wine Tanya Ho-Shue, who grew up and started a family in Jamaica, then London, working in finance, and wound up in the heart of wine country in California, becoming a certified wine expert and working for a top wine school.

Wine and beer lovers need not pick a side! Let us find middle ground in the wine vs beer discussion with something that both can love. Through exploring alternative wines and lambic sour beer, we can find beers that wine lovers can enjoy and pet nat wine that beer fans will fall in love with. In this article we find the common ground between wine and beer, so beer drinkers can find wines that they will enjoy.

When one thinks of natural wines, it is not often that eastern philosophy or the Japanese art of wabi sabi comes to mind. Yet, the true appreciation for wine is in the beauty of imperfection. How a minimal intervention, farm-to-glass, wild and scare wine can create ‘perfect imperfections’ or even flaws in wines thats can be considered the ultimate representation of terroir. But where do you draw the line between an imperfection that goes too far? We explore this in this article.

Let’s discover what wabi sabi, meditation, beauty, and wine all have in common.

What’s behind the phenomenon of the Spritz cocktail? How did the Spritz come about, why is it so popular, and how do you make it? It’s a recipe with 2 key ingredients and from there, it’s fair game to improvise, either using different ingredients or different proportions of the same ingredients. Because, you see, the way you have your Spritz is a very personal taste preference, like asking someone how you take your coffee. For those of you making cocktails at home, we have a recipe Spritz Aperol, for you to get started to become a Spritz Master.

What is sugo? It’s become a trending culinary topic in the US as of late. Get on board with this authentic sugo recipe from an Italian restaurant in the heart of the Langhe, Italy that is a local favorite eating spot in Italy’s mecca of culinary delights, plus it is Nonna approved and tested. Get the full recipe inside and have a bottle of barbera d alba to fully recreate an authentic Langhe experience at home.

Straight from the winding canals of Venice, Italy, is a cod recipe easy to pull together even last minute. A creamy spread, put this baccala mantecato on toast to make cicchetti, or bite-sized appetizer ready to pair with Italian wine. Get this authentic trattoria recipe inside. And, Veneto native, winemaker Sandro de Bruno’s favorite food pairing for a wine tasting would be this baccalà with an Italian sparkling wine from the Veneto area, like his classic method Durello.

What do the locals in Venice, especially the true native Veneziani, do for fun in the hometown? The go bar-hopping Venice style to places called bàcaro and which serve cicchetti which are Venice style tapas. How can you join in on the fun on your next trip to Venice? Find out in this article.

What were wine explorers most interested in 2022? What wine trends caught people’s attention? What controversies popped up and were followed? Here are the top stories of this past year and some perspectives on what will be hot topics for wine and food explorers in 2023.

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.

Who is not fascinated by bubbles, especially when they are in wine. That’s why we have seen sparkling wine sales jump over the past couple of years. And now, we are starting to have sparkling wines even on every day occasions.

Want to discover some alternative sparkling wines to add to your repertoire, or surprise and delight someone else? Perhaps a grape variety you never had? Or a new style of sparkling wine? Or how about trying a small producer that’s brand new to the US market? … Read on!

Born and raised in his family’s winery, Sandro of Sandro de Bruno’s passion as a winemaker is classic method sparkling wines, aka champagne style. But not only: he's fascinated by the native yet obscure grape, durella, that grows in ancient volcanic soil of the Prealp mountains surrounding his home and winery in Veneto, Italy.

We had sat down with him at a recent VeroTalk learn about his mineral rich, complex and age-worthy 95 point rated Durello Italian sparkling wines.  Read on to discover for yourself.

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.

Less well known wines are gaining traction in the US, with sommeliers, wine store owners and journalists talking and writing about them more. We, also, focus on curating off-the-beaten-path grapes beyond the most widely sold wine varietals in the US. Yet, with this trend, it can be difficult for our customers to select wines made from grapes they never had. Here we have some alternatives to suggest if you’d like to venture out on your own to try new types of wines. Whether you are a Chardonnay, Moscato, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Malbec or Syrah wine lover, here are some other wines you should look out for and try. Let’s journey to discover unusual wines!

Find out what we learned when we sat down to sip and chat with the insider & top Czech winemaker Jakub Smrcka of Thaya in our VeroTalk. From its history as a crossroads, we found out how winegrowing has evolved over time in the Czech Republic, capturing its local market of beer drinkers and turning them into wine lovers. Get the full scoop in this article.

Do you love wine but then struggle finding the ‘right words’ to describe it? Or are you on your way to becoming a wine expert and need a de-brief on terminology for wine tasting?

What does complex mean? Or what is a primary aroma? What is a smooth wine?

We are on a mission to teach you how to fish… for wine!

Here is a wine glossary of terms you can use during your next wine tasting or wine pairing to work your way to becoming a wine pro. Then put these descriptive wine words into practice by buying the wines which fit each definition. Then have wine tasting home party with your wine loving friends. Sooner rather than later you will master wine speak!

Get started by learning the wine description words inside.

Need some tips on wine pairing for Thanksgiving or the Holidays?

Do you want to do winetasting like a pro?

Let us help you to master wine pairing Thanksgiving dinner and all the holiday celebrations coming down the pike with this first of a series of articles about wine tasting and pairing wine and food.

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.