Friday evening in Cortona there was a wonderful collaboration between Baracchi Winery and Ristorante Il Comanchero, located just outside of the walls of the Cortona on the hillside with beautiful views of the Val di Chiana. Guests were greeted with a glass of Baracchi sparkling wine and this blogging diva was encouraged by Benedetto Baracchi to help open one of the bottles in a very traditional way using a sciabola (sword). Benedetto showed me...

Tasting menu for dinner by Trattoria Dardano at Agriturismo Castel Girardi:  APERITIVO : Fantasia di antipasto a buffet Pensiero Pinot Grigio delle Venezie IGT 2012 Tuscan Sun Wines ANTIPASTO : Sformatino al Tartufo Tondo Tondo IGT Toscana 2011 Tuscan Sun Wines PRIMO PIATTO : Pennette allo Speck – Tagliatelle al profumo di bosco Sentiero alla casa IGT Toscana 2012 Tuscan Sun Wines SECONDO PIATTO : Caramelle di maiale ai funghi porcini con...

This week’s Wine, Shine & Dine event featured the Vino Libero Progetto, an enterprising project by Farinetti, also of the infamous Eataly. The project is composed of 12 wine producers fromall over Italy who have embraced Vino Libero’s objectives which are to not use pesticides, chemicals, or excess sulfites in their wine. Vino Libero is pretty serious about their objectives, they even have a “manifesto” on their...

Sunday evening Il Falconiere hosted a “Sparkling Cocktail Party & Live Dj Set” at their gorgeous Relais & Chateaux property nestled in the hills just below Cortona.  I had been invited by my good friend Sebastian of Del Brenna Jewellery who was also there with his beautiful artisan jewelry helping sponsor the event. It was a perfect evening for an outdoor event and the Falconiere property is an amazing place to watch the sun...

This week’s Wine, Dine & Shine featured Montalcino winery Castiglion del Bosco along with very special guest, owner Massimo Ferragamo, also quite famous for being in the fashion industry and the son of Salvatore Ferragamo. The evening started off with the free tasting event in front of the Molesini Wine Shop and apparently quite a few other people had heard about it and were there to taste the wines! I’ve been a big fan of...

This week’s Wine, Shine & Dine event in Cortona on Thursday, June 27th, will feature Vino Libero, an association that brings together 12 wine producers  committed  to each other,  one towards the other,  to apply a model of  sustainable agriculture  that is both economically viable, environmentally responsible and socially just. These are the wines they will be pouring at the free tasting from 4 -8 p.m. in front of Molesini Wine Shop in...