It's hard to believe I wrapped up my 12th year of blogging in 2025! As always, I want to thank all my readers and followers staying with me throughout my wine blog journey. Although things were a little slower for me this year balancing work, family and my own personal interests, I look to share more Italian food, wine and travels into the new year.
I'd love to hear from my
readers if there is more you'd like to see in 2026 so please don't
hesitate to drop me an email at vinotravels at hotmail dot com.
Le Mie Cose Preferite, "my favorite things", is the theme of this month's Italian Food, Wine & Tasting group hosted by Camilla. The focus this month is to highlight
our favorite Italian wines, along with a pairing or travel tale.
Picking a favorite Italian wine is not an easy task for someone like myself. I honestly have so many favorites! When my hand is twisted, though, I must turn to one of my favorite grapes, Sangiovese. This is a grape produced throughout many of Italy's wine regions, mostly central Italy, butit finds its true home in the region of Tuscany.
Sangiovese throughout Italy
With that, Tuscany holds a special place in my heart as it's
where I first came to fall in love with the country many moons ago when
studying abroad in college. It was a life-changing experience for me,
and although I didn't enjoy wine at that time, I have truly come to appreciate the Sangiovese grape and its many expressions. Whether it's
produced in the heart of Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino
Nobile di Montepulciano, southern Tuscany in the Maremma, Umbria or in the Emilia Romagna region. These are just a few of the many ways I have enjoyed the expressions of this grape.
The Ricasoli Brolio estate
You may recall that I featured this renowned winery, Barone Ricasoli, some years ago, and an earlier vintage of this wine that I’m sharing today. The Ricasoli family is one of the most historic throughout Italy and the world. According to wine.com,
they are “the fourth oldest family business in the world” and the
“oldest winery in Italy” with over 880 years of ownership. Now that’s some history!
The Ricasoli family is made up of a two-time Prime Minister, Baron Bettino Ricasoli, who also developed the recipe for Chianti back in 1872. The family also contributed to the unification of Italy and helped defend Florence against Siena. The familyacquired the Brolio estate inGaiole in 1141 and operates580 acres of sustainable vineyards. Today the winery is led by Baron Francesco Ricasoli since 1993. He is the 32nd owner and president of the winery from within the family.
Wine selection - Barone Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico
Although if I had to pick my favorite expression of Sangiovese it would be in Brunello di Montalcino. I wasn't quite ready to sit and thoroughly enjoy a bottle of Brunello this week in preparation for this blog, so I chose a 2016 Barone Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG. The 2016 vintage is made of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was rather transparent in color with ruby to garnet coloring on the edges. There were herbal aromas combined with dried cherries and dried roses. On the palate, this wine was beautifully well-balanced. Medium-bodied,
with well-integrated tannins and nice cherry flavors on the palate. The
elegance of this wine makes it so lovely to drink. ABV 14%.
A Tuscan pairing of Ribolitta with Chianti Classico
Since time has been quite short lately and I feel I've been just getting by most days feeding the family, I decided to make the time to pair this wine with a Tuscan classic soup, ribollita. There is nothing like a good soup when the cold weather hits. Ribollita is a hearty Tuscan soup with a rather thicker consistency than most.
The name comes from the word rebollire, meaning reboiled. Ribollita
was considered a peasant cuisine during the Middle Ages when reheating
leftover vegetable soup with stale bread was a tasty meal. It's just one of the examples of cucina povera, translating to poor kitchen, that was an inexpensive but easy meal to enjoy for peasant families that utilized simple ingredients.That'sone
of the things I have always appreciated about the Tuscan cuisine I have
experienced from my travels throughout the region. Simple ingredients,
but full of flavor.
It was an easy preparation of this dish by sautéing onions, carrots, and celery in extra virgin olive oil until softened. I added some garlic along with a cup of white wine, a can of whole peeled tomatoes,and 4 cups of vegetable broth. I let these cook over medium for a bit, breaking up the whole tomatoes.I then added two cans of cannellini beans, fresh kale, along with some spices to include Italian seasonings, kosher salt, a bay leaf and some parmesan rind. I let this simmer for at least 30 minutes. Upon serving a slice of toasty bread and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil will add a nice touch to enjoy.
Enjoy your piece of Tuscany from your own kitchen!
Join the rest of our Italian food and wine loving friends as they share some of their favorite Italian wines and pairings.
You can find a more recent vintage of this wine for $32 on Wine.com to try. I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of Vino Travels.
*This wine was provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own.
While many winelovers and visitors to the Veneto are attracted to the wines of Valpolicella, Amarone, Bardolino and even Soave, when visiting that part of the region there is another DOC of this area that doesn’t share the same spotlight that deserves the attention, the Custoza DOC. Nestled between Verona and Lake Garda, this white wine dominated appellation shows the uniqueness of it’s mineral driven soils and Azienda Agricola Gorgo’s Custoza DOC that I’m sharing today is a great bottle to experience what this area is all about.
map of Custoza DOC territory - copyright of Consorzio Custoza
The Gorgo Winery
This family owned estates was Founded in 1973 by Roberto and Alberta Bricolo, the Gorgo winery is located in Sommacampagna, nearby to the village of Custoza in the southeastern part of Lake Garda within the Veneto region. Today Roberto and Alberta’s daughter, Roberta, leads the operations of the winery to carry on her parents dream. What started as about a 54 acres winery has grown to around 130 acres producing all certified organic wines.
Roberta and Roberto Bricolo - copyright of Az. Agr. Gorgo
The Custoza wine appellation
Gorgo was established two years after the Custoza DOC was established in 1971, which is the appellation that the wine I’m sharing today is from. This is a white wine dedicated DOC. The wine must contain a minimum of at least 70% of Bianca Fernanda, the local name for Cortese, Friulano, Garganega and/or Trebbiano Toscano without one of those grapes making up more than 45% of the blend.
The Custoza DOC territory forms an amphitheater made of morainic soils formed from glacial deposits from the glaciers during the Quarternary Period. This DOC covers 9 towns across 4,360 acres. Due to the soils and the Mediterranean climate that is moderated by Lake Garda, these wines are fresh and tend to have floral aromatics with a fruit profile of pears, apples, citrus and tropical fruits that are fresh with a touch of minerality and salinity.
The Wine Selection - Gorgo Custoza
The 2021 Gorgo Custoza DOC is part of Gorgo’s Classic line. It is made certified organic from the Garganega, Trebbiano Toscano and Bianca Fernanda grapes (which is a native clone of the Cortese grape). The grapes are cryomacerated and softly pressed and fermented in stainless steel with the wine on the lees in stainless for 3-4 months until bottled. The wine was a brilliant straw color with golden highlights. Fragrant with heavier armor as of petrol and tropical notes. Medium-bodied on the palate with a slight unctuous texture with tropical (pineapple) notes. 12.5% ABV $16 SRP (newer vintages on Wine.com)
Best ways to visit Sommacampagna and the Custoza area
The area of Lake Garda is such a marvelous place to explore and Sommacampagna is an easy jaunt outside of Verona. It’s even closer than Verona to the closest airport, Valerio Catullo Airport. It’s just an easy 3 miles! If you’re visiting Verona and looking to venture out from the city you can reach Sommacampagna by car, which is about a 10 miles drive. If you will not have a vehicle it is also easily accessible from Verona Porta Nuova station via bus, which should take about 30 minutes. With this close proximity to so many great sights there is no reason not to visit!
Map copyright of Consorzio Custoza
I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of Vino Travels.
