I had the absolute pleasure to attend THE Benvenuto Brunello 2013 event this past Monday in Montalcino and taste many of the newly released Brunellos.  WAY too many to talk about in one post but I promise to report all my findings soon. As the icing on the cake we stopped in at Casanova di Neri on our way back to Cortona, where I literally was RUINED for all other Riserva Brunellos 2007.  And trust me, I tried some really good ones. All of the...

Recently a well known wine -o-phile in Italy, Alessandro Rossi, put together a group of winemakers, wine lovers, wine writers and wine experts to blind taste 9 of the best Cabernet Francs from Tuscany.  Only one of the wines was from the Cortona D.O.C. area. (important to note since I’m blatantly for home team Cortona D.O.C.!) The end result, Leuta rated 95/100 for the win. It’s no secret I’m a Leuta fan and I am always...

The new vintages of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano have been released and the highly anticipated preview party in Montepulciano, the birthplace of Vino Nobile, is this weekend, February 16, 17 and 18! The new vintages being released are the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2010 and the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2009. The Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano has a little more information on their website about the Anteprima del Vino...

Tuscany Taste, a new brand for promoting Tuscan wines to foreign markets is hosting a contest! Download their logo from the link above, print it out in color and take a “creative” photo with it somewhere in the world and upload it to their Facebook page.  They say they will “reward you for your creativity”.  Who knows what that will be but it sounds fun and hey, feel free to share it on our tuscanWINEnotes Facebook page...

Every February the new vintages of Brunello are released in Montalcino and to say it is a big deal is an understatement!  This year the 2008 Brunello and the 2007 Riserva Brunello are finally making their debut. I hear through the grapevine that the 2008(s) are decent but the 2007 Riserva(s) are exceptional.  I look forward to tasting ALL of them myself! Yes, I am going!  By bus, from Cortona with a group of most probably other rowdy wine...