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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

To the east of the famous Langhe, lies the off the beaten track Monferrato in the province of Asti. While the Langhe is famous for its big bold Barolo and Nebbiolo red wines, the Monferrato excels in crafting a broad range of wines. They have fresh and bold Barbera red wines, structured champagne style sparkling wines and aromatic dessert wines, like the white and fizzy Moscato d’Asti and the red spumante Brachetto d’Acqui. Discover Asti Monferrato in this article, what could become the next trending destination in Piedmont!

If these trees could talk, they would tell you about the Febo family in Abruzzo farming their land as early as the 1500s.. Olives were the mainstay of their farming family, from the Febo family’s olive tree grove whose trees date back to 500 years ago. For centuries, they lived on a ‘cucina povera’ or poorman’s cuisine of which their treasured olive oil was a fundamental part of it. Find out what we learned about olive oil production on a small, artisanal scale from Davide Febo, winemaker of Febo’s natural wines, and their organic extra virgin olive oil they bottled from their family’s private stash just for us.

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.

At the base of the Italian-Swiss Alps in the Northern part of Piemonte (Piedmont), is the Canavese wine region. Meet on the newest Vero producers, Antonella Piatti who is from there and for over 20 years has been cultivating organic vineyards and making wine from native Canavese varieties. Discover this lesser known wine region of Piedmont, in the Langhe’s shadow, as well as white wine grape Erbaluce, a superstar wine capable of being vinified 3 ways, and woman winemaker Antonella Piatti’s lover for her pergola style vineyards and Erbaluce.

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!