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New Article Category: Italian Wines

I’ve started a new category for my blog articles. It’s about wine and it’s about time, right?!

Yep, it’s the category that captures all of the blog articles that I’ve created over the years that are concerned with Italian wines. I count 8 articles in that category.

If you click on the heading to the top right of this article titled ‘Index of Articles’, you will be taken to the ‘Index of Articles’ page…strange how that works, huh? If you scroll down a bit in the right-hand column of said index, you will find the new ‘Italian Wines’ category near the top…right where it ought to be.

To simplify things for today, I’ve summarized those 8 articles just below.

So, grab a bottle of your favorite Italian wine, open it, pour yourself a glass (if you need permission, you’ve got a standing approval from me), and read on. I list the articles beginning with the oldest, along with just a hint of what you find in the complete article.

Castello Brolio

08/25/2015

This article titled, “Beautiful Places Castello Brolio”, was written because of the importance of Castello Brolio to Tuscan wines. You’ve most likely enjoyed Chianti and Chianti Classico wines in the past…right? Well, they started right here at Castello Brolio. It was the castle’s owner, Baron Ricosoli, who created the formula for Chianti. After more than thirty years of research and experiments, he divulged his formula for Chianti in a letter in 1872.

As a reminder, the word “Classico” in Chianti Classico is not necessarily a designation of the quality of a wine, but is related to its geographic origin. It is a designation for wines grown in a certain place within the official Chianti region…it’s like the hole (Chianti Classico) in a donut (the overall Chianti region)…kind of. On the other hand, if you find the words “Riserva” after the words Chianti or Chianti Classico, you can assume that the extra aging has improved the taste of the wine.

Banfi Wines

05/24/2016

Castello Banfi sits proud south of Montalcio

Most of you know of my love for all things Banfi…be it the food, the castello, the borgo, the people, or the wine…they are all magnificent! In the article titled, “Stay Here, Eat Here, Drink Here: Banfi” you will get the full extent of what Banfi has to offer.

In the mid ‘70s, with earnings from their very successful importation of Riunite wines (remember, ‘Riunite on ice, that’s nice!’ commercials?), Brothers John and Harry Mariani went to Italy in search of the perfect place to start their own winery business…a business which has become an empire in the wine world.

A wine tasting is the best way to decide on your wine purchase

The prominent grape of the estate is Sangiovese, the same grape (among others) that is made into Chianti wine. But here, the wine of fame is Banfi’s Brunello. And then, Brunello isn’t the only wine made by the Mariani family, and you will find a good many of them available in the enoteca of the castello…like these that we tasted whilst there.

I don’t use the word ‘castello’ (i.e. castle) lightly. Yes, the estate is centered around a castello sitting atop a scenic hilltop, as seen in the painting, above. And within that castello, you will find Il Borgo Banfi (the hotel). I can’t recommend a stay at this lovely, peaceful place enough. We have such great memories of our time there. And, who wouldn’t appreciate just a wee bit of time away from wine tasting, sitting poolside in the Tuscan countryside? We certainly did…and to prove it, I’m sure you recognize Ellen’s toes in this photo.

Enjoying Your Italy-Bought Wine

02/02/2017

This article isn’t about a specific winery or wine type, though one does play heavily into the article. It is about spending a day being just a bit naughty, not doing anything other than relaxing and enjoying a bottle of wine that you purchased during one of your trips to Italy.

In this article titled, “Enjoying Your Italy-Bought Wine”, before we get to the wine that we sipped before a fire on a cold, winter day, you get the back story in the purchase of the wine.

There is the story of lunch at a fabulous restaurant in Radda in Chianti.

Then there’s the post-lunch drive on a Google-assured road that wasn’t much of a road after all.

And finally, we arrive for a wine tasting that turned to wine buying.

Ahhh, it was such a great day of enjoyment…both the day in Italy, and then the day at home, lounging away the day in our jammies. Give it a try…you’ll like it.

In addition to some of our favorite memories, this day’s activities led me to taking probably my favorite of all Italy photos, shown just below. The Tuscan countryside, just after an afternoon shower. Magnifico!

By the way, that same day in Italy led to these articles, also: Get Lost!, and Wild-Goose Chase. I hope you enjoy these two articles, too…it was a fun, frustrating, and then an interesting day.

Taking a Guided Winery Tour

09/03/2019

OK, first of all, who wouldn’t want to take a guided winery tour with Matteo? Right, ladies?

Beyond that, I can assure both male and female alike that getting around to the wineries of an area of Italy with a local, knowledgeable guide, is the way to go.

Our wine-travelling day with Matteo was spent in the Langhe area of Piemonte, in the heart of the Barolo wine area. If you plan to do a bit of wine tasting in Italy, you will find guides like Matteo (well, maybe not exactly like Matteo) throughout the Italian wine area.

Our first stop of the day was at the Aurelio Settimo winery. Here, Laura showed us both the traditional oak casks, as well as our first sighting of a glass-lined, concrete casks. Usage depends on the wine you are making, and the flavor you want to impart in that wine.

Next up was the DaMilano winery. Well, we didn’t actually tour the winery, but we spent a good bit of time, and money, at the DaMilano enoteca, where Alicia helped us sip and purchase. And, we were very pleased to find that DaMilano also produces the white wine called Arneis, which we had fallen in love with in the town of Nieve.

Next up was the Schiavenza winery. Here, Matteo’s buddy Waldo produces great wine in small quantiles. And, what’s Leslie measuring in the photo? Waldo had just told us how the casks were cleaned after being emptied. He says that he climbs through that little arched opening and brushes and hoses out the casks…and he wasn’t kidding.

And finally, we ended our day at the Giovanni Rosso winery. Here we had another new experience in wine tasting. Not only did we taste wine from the Giovanni Rosso bottles in their tasting room, but Francesca also tapped right into one of the wine casks for our tasting enjoyment…enjoyment you can see here on the faces of Matteo and Craig.

I neglected to tell you that we had a mid-day lunch at Trattoria Schiavenza. Sitting on the terrazza, we spent a bit of time with watercolors, painting the beautiful Piemonte-Langhe countryside.

Going to Italy? Going to taste a bit of wine? Check out Taking a Guided Winery Tour.

Renato Ratti Winery

09/17/2019

If you want to visit a winery that is state of the art…both in design and in presentation, then you definitely need to visit the Renato Ratti Winery.

Your entrance to the green-roofed Renato Ratti winery

First of all, the winery has been placed carefully into a hillside below the town of La Mora, where an environmentally-friendly green roof and gravity-fed winery have been expertly accomplished.

Next, you will find one of the most creative of winery introductions in a video developed by Pietro Ratti that is both fun and informative.

Christine takes us deep in the cellars of Renato Ratti winery

Then, take the tour of the wine making facility below you, deep down in the hillside.

Next, let Christine lead you through a series of vintage Barolo wines, where you can stick your nose in a glass and taste great wines. This way, you get to see how the ‘nose’, tannins, taste, and color change over time as a wine ages in-bottle. By the way, it changes in a good way! At least for Barolo wines.

And, note the view from the tasting room…probably the most magnificent in all of Italy as it frames the vines of the Nebbiolo grapes.

Finally, snap a photo with your hostess Christine, and engaging owner, Pietro Ratti.

Allegrini Winery

01/07/2020

It’s time to learn about appassimento! And where better than at the Allegrini Winery? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way, as there is no better answer than at Allegrini.

The Villa della Allegrini sits just north of Verona, in the heart of the Valpolicella area…known for both Valpolicella and Amarone wines. And, then there’s their own Palazzo della Torre wine.

Palazzo della Torre is made using the appassimento process. Appassimento means ‘withering’, and that’s what happens to some of the grapes as they are raisinated, or dried for about 3 months.

Here you can see Olmo as he describes the crappy (sorry, pardon the language) soil in which Allegrini’s grapes are grown. Mineral, rather than organics desired by most farmers, are the key to a healthy wine-making grape.

Wondering what a grape looks like during the appassimento process? Check out this photo.

Amarone wine is also made with the appassimento process. And, unlike the marvelous Brunello of Tuscany, which uses just the one Sangiovese grape, the production of Allegrini’s famous Amarone wine uses a blend of four different grapes.

Finally, I’ll leave you with a view of what I would call, ‘The King of the North’…a bottle of Amarone, lying comfortably upon a pillow of withering grapes, ready for you to gently lift it up and then savor it.

Michele Chiarlo Winery

01/21/2020

Our last winery visit will be to the Michele Chiarlo winery. Here, not only did we visit the winery, but also the vineyards.

We started at the La Court vineyard pictured above in the eastern portion of Piemonte. Beautiful, isn’t it?

We met Alberto at the vineyards, where he explains the layout of the vineyard, and the importance of south- vs north-facing vines, and the compass points in between.

Then, it was on to the winery and tasting room. Leslie listens closely to find out more about their Arneis white wine. And seeing the bottling room was fascinating.

DOCG, DOC, IGT & DOG

11/17/2020

The most recent article concerning Italian wines dealt with government-issued geographic and quality guarantees.

The importance of these designations is one of quality control…Italy doesn’t want inferior wines being produced that would lower the already very-high bar of Italian wines. Thus, the governments involvement in the wines produced in Italy.

As this was recently published in November, I will assume that you read DOCG, DOC, IGT & DOG in the very serious state of mind in which government decrees should be carefully examined…so I won’t dwell on it here.

That’s it for today. Is that bottle empty, yet? No? Then get back to work on it! Meanwhile, I’ll cover the multitude of wine-producing grapes of Italy soon.

In closing, here is a toast of San Angelo Pinot Grigio from Banfi. This toast is to your continued health in 2021, and to your successful exit from 2020. Until next time…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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DOC, DOCG, IGT and DOG

Index of Articles

What in the world is this about?! It’s about wine; that’s what it’s about!

“I’ll start with the highest classification system and go to the least restrictive”

Italy is unarguably* one of the best places in the world to grow grapes and vinify them into beautiful, outstanding wines. In the early 1960s, Italy came up with a regimented system to protect the quality of their wine. If a particular wine varietal (e.g. Brunello, Barolo, Chianti, Valpolicella, etc.) gains a reputation as a great wine, you don’t want some upstart winery coming in with their own formula using the very same varietal name to give that varietal wine a bad name and ruin everything. So, it’s kind of a marketing thing. And it’s kind of an safeguard thing. And, it’s kind of confusing thing on top of all of that.

You can see the DOCG designation written out at the top of the label, just above “2011”

So, the system that they developed is a series of laws that classifies Italian wines by quality of specific wine varietals, like those mentioned above. It’s a way to regiment the stature of Italian wines and to guarantee that they come from whence they say…in other words, they’re authentic. And not just where the wines come from, but their alcohol content, type of grape, and their aging are regulated in their classification systems.

It’s a good bit about geography, as wine zones have been set up within Italy. Within these zones, the growers and producers of wine must follow government regulations in order to have their wine certified within this system. You will find that most of the DOCG wines (defined for you just a bit later), for example, come from Tuscany (e.g. Brunello and Chianti), Veneto (e.g. Amarone, Valpolicella, and Soave), and Piemonte (e.g. Barolo and Barbaresco). This gives you a wide variety of wines from which to choose for your drinking pleasure.

And on the neck of the bottle is the serial number

Can the classifications lead you to the better Italian wines as you shop? Yes, they can. That’s pretty much the whole point. You will need to look for words on the label, like the words on the back label of the Banfi 2011 Brunello di Montalcino shown above where it says, “Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita”, i.e. DOCG. There will also be a paper band that has a serial number on the neck of the bottle…or it might cover the cork, like the band on the neck of that same bottle of Banfi 2011 Brunello di Montalcino, as seen here. A serial number? Are you serious? Yes, these Italian law-makers are serious about their wines. [More on Banfi wines here]

You may hear the word ‘appellation’ used. This comes from the French system of classifying their own wines. Basically, it refers again to a specific wine varietal.

Now to the classification system. I’ll start with the highest classification system and go to the least restrictive. Here’s how it works.

DOCG

Short for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, or in English, “Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin”.

DOCG is the highest level of quality recognition which can be bestowed on an Italian wine. Because there were so many DOC wines (covered next), and because not all of those wines were of equal quality, this DOCG designation was created in 1980 to ratchet down the quality designations of those wines. Government officials actually have to taste the wines to give DOCG status! Hello…can we get one of these jobs?

Besides taste, they make sure that the grapes were grown in the correct geographic region, have a lower portion of blending grapes, come from lower yield fields, have a higher alcohol content, and receive longer aging. All of this creates and opportunity for a great wine to emerge from the certification process.

Who got the first DOCG designations? Piemonte’s nebbiolo-graped Barolo and Barbaresco, and Tuscany’s Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, both of which come from the sangiovese grape. It was a presidential decree that gave these wines their DOCG status. Is it just me, or does the Italian government seem to be more on the ball than our own?! I mean, tasting wine, making decrees…life is good in Italy.

After the forces of government complete their evaluation, a wine is “guaranteed” with an official, government, serial-numbered seal/label, like the one shown a bit above. That’s what you look for whilst wine shopping. And, how many DOCG wine varietals might you find? That would be 74 at this moment.

Before we leave DOCG wines, I need to clarify something. Those 74 wines don’t represent 74 wines from 74 wine makers with a total of 74 wine labels. That number 74 represents the number of varietals of wines, not the number of producers with the label of DOCG attached to their bottles. For instance, whilst in Italy, I’ve seen hundreds of different bottles of Brunello di Montalcino with DOCG on their label in wine stores, and it’s the Brunello di Montalcino varietal that is but 1 in 74, not a particular wine makers issue of Brunello di Montalcino. It will clear things up a good bit if you click here to see the full list of DOCG varietals of Italy.

DOC

Right below DOCG is Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or Controlled Designation of Origin. The lack of the word ‘guaranteed’ is the key here. Those government sponsored DOCG sippers and spitters aren’t there to put their official guarantee on these wines. Compared to the DOCG rules, think of these rules as strict, but generous. The wines still must be scrutinized for quality, and there are still rules about permitted grape varieties, maximum harvest yields, and aging requirements, but the rules tend to be less stringent than with DOCG, which adds a quality tasting panel to the mix.

The label of the Renato Ratti ‘Ochetti’, just above the word ‘Nebbiolo’ (the varietal), clearly states on the label that it is “Denominazione di Origine Controllata”. [You can see more about Renato Ratti here]

So, DOC isn’t as stringent as DOCG. Does that mean that the wines won’t taste as good. Not at all. You are the determinant of what you like…not designations, wine raters, and government types.

The DOC rules vary by region, but there must exist a traditional formula for the vinification.

In this label, we find that even Vin Santo can have a DOC designation.

How many have DOC designation? At around 329, they are much more common, but the number is a bit slippery. You can see the current full list here.

IGT

One of our favorite wines is IGT- so don’t shy away from them

Indicazione geografica tipica, or “Geographical Indication”, or IGT, was created in 1992 to recognize the unusually high quality of many of the wines not making the DOCG or DOC category. Mostly what you get with an IGT designation is the locality of their creation.

Don’t confuse this lower ranked designation with poorer tasting wines, as many Super Tuscans are in the IGT classification, and they can be quite tasty.

And that label in this photo for Allegrini’s Palazzo della Torre, shows IGT status, and I can guarantee you that it is an outstanding and inexpensive wine. [See more about Allegrini wines, and in particular Palazzo della Torre and the unique way that it is made, here]

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE (at least it was of interest to me): Sometimes, when the harvested grapes in a particular year are not of a superior quality, a producer might abandon the production of their normal DOCG- or DOC-designated wine because, with asperations lowered, they don’t want to adhere to the more stringent and costly standards using a lesser-quality grape that just wouldn’t wind up meeting the standards for the wine that it winds up producing. So, they drop down to the IGT designation and move on. They might even do this a year or two into the vinification of a wine that was destined for appellation status to cut their losses, yet in the meantime, they produce a pretty darned tasty wine of IGT quality. One more thing: quality can be defined as meeting the customer’s expectations…so if you have less of an expectation of an IGT-priced wine, you are more likely to have your expectations met. IGT wines can have a high quality-to-price ratio.

VdT

Vino da Tavola (VdT), or simply ‘Table Wine’ is a lesser known designation. It doesn’t have a geographical component. The wine must be made from grapes grown in Italy. I’m not sure that you’ll see the VdT designation in your local wine store, as they normally aren’t worth the effort of shipping them here. Our experience is that most ‘vino della casa’ (house wines) of a ristorante in Italy, often served from a spigot like beer, are usually good with their pasta and pizza, and I’m guessing that many of these would be of the VdT variety.

The Settecani Castelvetro Winery had a mishap…but a good one!

Not to belabor the point about wine from a spigot too much, here is an interesting anecdote. We all know who once turned water into wine…right? Though this time it was just an accident, earlier this year the people of Settecani, Italy thought they were seeing a miracle as they turned on their faucets to see water turn to wine. People were literally showering in Lambrusco from the Settecani Castelvetro Winery as the winery’s valves got a little out of kilter.

DOG

Finally we get to DOG. That simply spells ‘dog’. We tend to like dogs, so I’m just throwing this in. Thought you’d want to know. In Italian, that designation would be ‘CANE’. And maybe you’ve heard of the dyslectic agnostic who didn’t believe in Dog? Sorry — I’ll stop now.

So, I’ve always said that ‘I don’t know what’s supposed to be good, but I know what I like’. That covers it for wine, too. But, I have to say that in our experience, the wines that we really, really like happen to fall into the DOCG appellation. In the ‘really, really like’ category we find in no particular order: Brunello, Amarone, Valpolicella, Rosa Regale (a magnificent type of Brachetto d'Acqui, or sweet spumante red wine), Soave, Prosecco, Moscato di Asti, Barolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, Vin Santo, Florus, and many more. I just had an epiphany! Right here, at this moment, I’m creating a new ‘RRL’ appellation…for ‘Really, Really Like” — so look for a little RRL appellation sticker on the bottom of certain Steve-approved wines.

And by the way, Ellen and I are generally available to join you for a meal and to sip Italian wines. Really. Just call. I’m serious. And, if you don’t want to cook, we can just drink wine.

Ciao for now,

Steve

* I said ‘unarguably’, but I’m not sure that there is anything that one can’t argue about these days…though I’m not sure I agree with that!

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102 Blog Articles...But Who's Counting?

Index of Articles

That’s right…102! I had no idea that I had put out over 100 blog articles until I counted them this week. I’ve really been a bit chatty, haven’t I?!

I have enjoyed every minute in the production of these articles, mostly about my favorite place — Italy. ‘Why do you do this?’, you ask. Because I want you to be stimulated through my writing and photos to visit Italy yourself. And, as an added benefit, I get to travel voyeuristically along the way as I write and go through photos from great times gone by.

“I absolutely love doing this, and I certainly hope that you enjoy my blog articles, and that you find them helpful in some way”

Italy is a place with beautiful scenery highlighted by mountains, plains, coastlines and lakes…a prolific history of art and culture (I know that you’ve heard of Michelangelo and the Roman Empire)…vineyards and their wineries producing the world’s best wines, like Brunello…authentic (it has to be, right?) Italian food…and a loving, smiling, happy people.

Today, I thought I would give you of my ‘Top 10’ articles. I’ve categorized them into ‘Visiting a Particular Place’, ‘Experiences We’ve Enjoyed’ {that you would, too), and ‘Helpful Travel Tips”. These are my favorites because of memories of the times and places involved, be they humorous, joy-filled, frustrating, or whatever — or because I felt that they were particularly informative in preparation for your own upcoming Italy trip.

If one of the descriptions catches your eye, go ahead and link to the article so that you can enjoy a small slice of Italy, too.

[OK, I have a confession to make. There are actually 12 articles listed below…I just couldn’t pare it down to 10…sorry about that]

Each listing below has a clickable bolded heading that takes you to the original article.

Visiting A Particular Place

Stay Here, Eat Here, Drink Here: Banfi

A beautiful Tuscan day at the Banfi pool

This article lays out for you the full Banfi experience that you will just have to live through yourself one day. We’ve visited the Castello Banfi twice and found the experience to be absolutely wonderful. The tour of the Banfi winery is outstanding. And then there is the Castello Banfi itself…a must see, as well as a must stay. Dining? Yes, you have your choice of the informal La Taverna, as well as the fabulous La Sala dei Grappoli. The enoteca where you can taste and then purchase wine? The largest and most beautiful we’ve seen — and we’ve seen many. Published on May 24, 2016.

A Visit to Villa Cimbrone

The view along the walk from Ravello to Villa Cimbrone

If you will be visiting the Amalfi coast, with its breathtaking mountainous backdrop, you absolutely need to journey up those mountains to the the town of Ravello. It sits high above the town of Amalfi and has spectacular views from the Belvedere. The gardens are charming and there are several restaurants between the town and the Cimbrone Gardens from which to choose, like our selection, Il Flauto di Pan. Published June 7, 2016.

Renato Ratti Winery

Talk about a fabulous and unique winery and visit thereto! This Piemonte winery has been environmentally inserted into the side of the hill upon which the town of La Mora sits. Gravity provides an energy-saving way to transport the developing wine from vinification to storage. The grape of this Piemonte winery is the Nebbiolo and their top wine is Barolo, of course. Our tasting was of vintage Barolo wines going as far back as 1998, which gave us a personal and up-close education on a wine’s tannin, fruit and color over time. Published September 17, 2019.

Stay Here: Borgo San Felice

There is a beautiful place to stay and eat in the heart of Tuscany, and it is the Borgo San Felice. A friend had stayed here and highly recommended it…we are glad he did! The owners basically purchased a small Tuscan town and converted it into a marvelous resort hotel experience. From the ancient chapel to the modern swimming pool, we enjoyed it all during our two visits there. And the food of their Ristorante Poggio Rosso was delicious, whether at breakfast or dinner. Published January 12, 2016.

Stumbling Upon Something Magnificent

Just what was it that we stumbled upon? It was a church sitting high on a hillside overlooking Lago Lugano, just west of Lago di Como. Oh how dumbstruck we were when we opened the doors of the church of Albogasio Inferiore in the small, lakeside town of Albogasio-oria. They say that one can’t judge a book by its cover, and that goes too for churches. The inside has beautifully painted fresco walls and ceilings, as well as other gorgeous ornamentation. Published July 28, 2015.

Experiences We’ve Enjoyed

One Fine Day

The setting is the Amalfi Coast. The conveyance was a 38’ Itama boat, captained by a friendly Gian-Carlo. The day was wonderful. This is the quintessential way to see the Amalfi Coast — by boat. We cruised in luxury with prosecco in hand. We swam the White and Green Grottos. We dined waterside on the Isle of Capri. And every bit of this day was perfect. Published September 29, 2015.

Enjoying Italy-Bought Wine

It’s strange how certain things can trigger memories of the past. We had that experience one lazy day…and those memories were certainly fond ones. What was it that triggered these great memories? It was wine, of all things. It was a wine that we had tasted at lunch in Radda in Chianti and one that we subsequently purchased at a winery in Tuscany. The setting for this article is our living room…in front of a roaring fire…with good book in one hand and a good wine in the other. Published February 2, 2017.

Wild Goose Chase

I’ve chased a wild goose or two, and I’m sure that you have, too. This incident relates to the day we bought a nice wine, as discussed in the article just above. We were on our way to a highly praised dinner…as praised on Trip Advisor. What we found when we arrived at the very small hilltown of Poggio alla Croce was an unexpected mystery. We had a reservation that I had managed to pull off in Italian…at least I thought I had. Find out what happened and how our evening managed to end. Published February 2, 2016.

Your Romantic Gondola Ride

If you’ve been to Venice and you haven’t ridden in a gondola, then you haven’t really been to Venice. The ubiquitous gondola is the iconic symbol of Venice. Your gondola experience should be a romantic one. This means that there is a certain time for your ride…a time that is best for reasons more than just romance. And, as each time has its place, I give you a suggestion on the best place to start (and end) your ride. Published July 12, 2016.

Helpful Travel Tips

Getting There: Bellagio

Bellagio is undoubtedly the most charming town we have visited, and its important how you get there! It sits on the end of a peninsula on Lake Como. You can auto there, but the road is twisty-turny and you may arrive with a bit of fuzzy brain. You can arrive by train…kind of…at least you will be close, but will require a ferry ride from Varenna. And you can arrive by boat…but not just any boat. You definitely don’t want the hydrofoil. What you want is the slow boat from the town of Como. It’s a slow ride and it is absolutely beautiful. Published August 2, 2016.

Another Way Into Italy

Of course you can fly directly to Italy, but there is a way that you might find to be a lot more fun…and relaxing. Why not start your Italy adventure in Switzerland?! You start in Zurich and take one of three trains into Italy. That has been our favorite way because it is a fabulous way to overcome your jet lag…as well as seeing the beautiful Swiss countryside. Published July 30, 2019.

Please, Thank You, and Where's the Bathroom

Don't let the fear of not knowing the Italian language keep you from Italy. Our experience has shown that for most of the places that we go (i.e. not too far off the beaten path), English is well spoken. I do recommend the joy of giving Italian a try, as it’s kind of fun to order a light breakfast by saying, “Pane tostata con burro e marmellata di arance”. But for sure, don’t let the lack of parlando Italiano keep you from Italy. Published August 14, 2016.

Now you know what I know — that being that the above are my favorite article posts. Trust me when I say that it was super difficult to pare them down to those twelve.

I absolutely love doing this, and I certainly hope that you enjoy my blog articles, and that you find them helpful in some way. If a trip to Italy is in your future…and I certainly hope it is…then the article ‘A Trip to Italy in Your Future? Read On!’ is a guide to using the Index of Articles to help you plan for your trip.

And, I really would love to see you there in beautiful Italy! But, in the meantime…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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