raffaele Mastrovincenzo

Outside the famous Langhe Nebbiolo grape have got many brothers. The other night I was in Rome and I always know the Lessona D.O.C. was a great terroir for this amazing grape. I did order this wine from the winery Propietà Sperino my first time. We are in the provence of Biella in the north part of Piedimont. Lessona wines is also called "vino d'Italia" when in 1870 Quintino Sella financial minister of the country after Italy was unified and became political one country and one reign; he choose to drink the Lessona wines instead of champagne to celebrated this important event. The propietà Sperino is the realization of a dream by Paolo de Marchi a famous personality in the world of Italian wines, perhaps more know for his other creature Cepparello a benchmark wine from Tuscany. Continental climate at the foot of Biellese pre-alpine hills, soil contain ancient marine sand which give good acid structure to the wine and also allow the roots to easily discovery the nouri...

Alajmo family owned a 3 michelin star restaurant in Padova a nice cool city in north Italy. Today I try to eat at their restaurant Le Calandre for the fact I was nearby, however the restaurant was closed; through the phone the guys told me there was the bistro or a small version of the fine dining Calandre called Calandrino. So I say why not, i got one table. As I walk in, the ambience was relaxed and vibrant waitress and waiter smiling and me and greetings my dumb attitude. Yes I'm a bit dumb, however i got straight a glass of Saten Franciacorta from a producer I wasn't aware, not too bad. Menu coming at the table and look at the price and I saw it was a bit price, i thought Padova must be a rich city? Suddenly on the corner of the menù I saw listed a good deal for a 3 course menu two savory and one dessert. It was a good one I was able to choose through the entire list and I did. First dishes was a delicious potatoes coated and cook in charcoal on the base there was ...

Papille  Pescara  Luigi D’Orazio Pescara is the biggest town in Abruzzo along the coast of Adriatic sea in the central of Italy, in this beautiful city among the sightseeing, the food and the wine play a big role in the CBD. Last week we spend a beautiful night at this Osteria in the same line of Parisian bistro, the name is Osteria Papille hosted by the owner Luigi D'orazio. Luigi is a very prepared person his wine list is focus on natural wine and old vintage of  Barolo and Tuscan benchmark at very good price; the food menu is enriched with selection of typical product of the region of Abruzzo and selection of different beef breed. We had a charcoal fillet from the Limousin cattle from the Marche regions in France which it is an high muscle breed. The fillet was tender and tasty, from advice of Luigi the first wine of the night we had was Le Raisin et L'ange by Gilles Azzoni 100% Syrah in a rosè style. It is a Vin de Pays in the Ardeche which is a fo...

The Brothers Camp with the friend Evaristo Alvarez in 1872 in Santiago de Cuba, they started the project Matusalem. Using only the method Solera and with that they reaching the secret formula for this Rhum. Last night I tried the 15 years old bought straight from Cuba, a friend of mine Marco Battista which  spend at least a few months a year in the island of the Spanish Caribbean let me try this gem: Color is bright copper. Nose fruity almost citrus, waxy with hints of oaks, toasted nuts and caramelized brown sugar cane. Hint of saltines in the palate, dry and silky with some spiciness ginger and star anise. I always had some reserve in regards of pop brand but this time I need to say this was very good. Thanks to Marco Battista,, we will drink this bottle trough summer. A good cocktail with rhum recommended by Marco: Ti Punch: traditional is made with white rhum agricole, lime, and cane syrup. Easy to prepare straight in the glass with lime rind as garnish ice is an op...

Vivit is the fair in the fair. Vinitaly the most biggest wine fair in Italy. Inside it there is a space dedicated to the production of natural wine around the world. This year I spend a couple days inside there and I did find really interesting wine and confirmed my self with some wine I really loved previously. I' ll focus this post on the producer where present at the exhibition: Eric Texier is a small vigneron based in Brèzème a small appellation in the northern Rhone below further south of Cornas. It is a great charming man talking with him was a great pleasure and I love the pure expression of the grapes and the Terroir his wine showing. We talk about the oldest producer of Rhone Valley peoples like Raymond Trollat in S. joseph, Marie Gentaz in Cote Rotie and Noel Verset in Cornas; unfortunately this are producer not long any more in the market they retired and I'm chasing them to try. Talking with Texier i understood how important they are and how this...

I would like to thank you the Vinitaly p.r. to invite me to this amazing tasting about the selection of "Tre bicchieri" the most recognize award about the Gambero Rosso magazine in Italy. Everything was done in the Palaexpo in the Argento room underneath the Lombardy pavilion. Vinitaly this year was quite crowd, hundred maybe thousand people walking around and lineup for drinking wines and asking question. This tre bicchieri event, was quite good enough room to put your glass on the table, and if you'll find the producer at the pouring it was like a feast (asking question and sharing knowledge). On this event on my personal opinion there were some wine was great and some so and so. So let's start with the bicchieri Raffaele: Pian di stio 2012 fiano  In Pasteum village the street of mozzarella there is this winery called Pasteum or San Salvatore 1988, Pasteum is  the name of the town were the winery is located from organic agriculture their Fian...

The 2014 edition of Villa Favorita in North Italy, in the country side of Vicenza a small city in the region of Veneto has been a great experience, more than 150 winemakers all over Europe they were sharing the same philosophy and attitude based of healthy agriculture respecting mother nature. The natural balance between the work of their hands, the soil where their vineyard are situated and their minimal intervention bring in the glasses a great wines with outstanding pleasure of drinking. the theme behind them were: Environmental and economic sustainability of the winery. Fertility and vitality of the soil. Wine and Health. I spend a full day there and of course I wasn't able to try all the wines were displayed.. So I try to tell about some of them: Stemberg wines Stemberg wines in the center of Carso appellation in the Slovenian part; I did try the Vitovska a typical grapes varieties in this part of the world quite aromatic; star bright with straw yellow co...