After my recent trip to Relais Borgo Scopeto as part of the Florence wine tourism awards, I was curious to know more about what they call “vinoterapia” or wine therapy (also known as vinotherapy). The four-star Relais finished renovating their Italian health spa last year and along with the standard sauna and spa access, guests can also enjoy a new range of beauty products based on the health properties of grapes.

Borgo Scopeto calls its vinotherapy treatment “nectar of the gods” although as with any wine therapy, the process has less to do with wine and more to do with the grapes themselves. Grape seed extract and skins are high in antioxidants and polyphenols which are said to have positive effects for the skin, especially with anti-ageing potential.

Borgo Scopeto describes its vinotherapy treatment thus: “Using the potential of the grapes, through the fruit’s polyphenol ,vitamin and acid, this treatment nourishes, smoothes and newly elasticizes the body skin. In total relax, it gives new beauty to all the body.” With its range of grape-based beauty products, the hotel offers a new trend in the sector.

Continue reading: Italian health spas with vinotherapy: what is vinoterapia and where can I get it?

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The grand finale for me of the Best of Wine Tourism Awards was our Chianti wine tasting at the Villa Petriolo, Cerreto Guidi, not far from Florence. I realise that “beautiful” is in no way a technical term to describe wine, but the Maestrelli sisters and their wine maker produce exactly that - beautiful Italian wines.

The Villa Petriolo received the Best of Wine Tourism award for “sustainable wine tourism practices” and while Villa Petriolo has no official organic status, there is a care for the land here that you won’t always find on a more industrial scale of wine production. In addition, the old villa has been preserved in its rough state, with the sisters keeping many of their father’s artifacts and collection items. The roof beams have been added to over the years to keep the structure sturdy, and there has been no primping of the house to provide fancy tasting rooms or appealing tourist wine shops.

The Maestrelli sisters provide a simple and sincere welcome, and we had the opportunity to taste a range of Villa Petriolo wines, guided by Silvia Maestrelli, who also fed us with hearty Tuscan antipasti, salads and salumi. Silvia says it’s her aim to make refined, elegant wines with no pretensions to full-bodied, new world tastes or commercial stunts (like the sparkling sangiovese we tasted at another wine producer). They have achieved beyond that with wines difficult to describe, but that stay with you - forming a kind of benchmark for future wine tasting as well as giving you an experience further than just describing a perfume or structure.

Chianti wine tasting and tours: Villa Petriolo

Continue reading: Chianti wine: Villa Petriolo wine tasting in Tuscany

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A Chianti wine tour will overwhelm you with its history, multiple examples of very good Chianti and beautiful landscapes, but not always in an area which is by now a guaranteed tourism success can you always find many examples of innovation. The Fattoria Torre a Cona won its Best of Wine Tourism award for exactly that.

The commanding but beautiful Italian villa provides a series of historically interesting buildings as a setting for a bed and breakfast and some Chianti wine tasting, that the company decided to turn its old granary store into a tasting room and wine shop. On entering the wine shop, the setting of a wine tasting along the length of the old building has a great impact. The restoration, designed by architect Miranda Ferrera, has preserved the alcoves of the original grain storage purpose, that now house the wine bottles and olive oil products of the farm.

A tour and wine tasting takes in the old cellars and the grounds of the estate, with a short walk around the Villa Torre a Cona gardens. Each wine tasting includes local dishes and bruschetta dressed with olive oil, while in terms of winemaking the Fattoria Torre a Cona has kept things simple but elegant, making three wines.

Chianti wine tasting and tours: Fattoria Torre a Cona

Continue reading: Chianti wine: Fattoria Torre a Cona wine tasting in Tuscany

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The Cantine di Leonardo wine cellars are located in Vinci, in Tuscany, in a part of the Chianti region not as famous as Chianti Classico or other areas, but with a beautiful countryside where you know you’re getting closer to the coast. For a “cantina sociale” (or cooperative wine cellars and producers), the Cantine di Leonardo produce some excellent quality wine with a touch of classic Chianti style while also experimenting with some more modern expressions, and is worth a stop on any Chianti wine tour.

Despite receiving a special jury mention in the Best of Wine Tourism awards from Florence recently in the category of architecture, parks and gardens, the Cantine di Leonardo and its wine shop “Enoteca dalle Vigne” is worth a stop just for the wine itself. While calling the cooperative wine producers the “cellars of Leonardo” might seem a cynical marketing gesture today, it’s an old name that was given in light of the fact that the town of Vinci is closely linked to the man the Italians call “the genius”.

The cooperative cellars were founded 50 years ago and now have about 500 hectares of vines cared for by various growers who have access to the advice of specialists through their participation in the society. The cellars have created an innovative system of payment to encourage the production of quality grapes, with five categories of grape quality each carrying a different price. If a grower reaches the first category, he is paid 130 percent of the value of the grapes. If his grapes reach only the fifth category, he is paid 50 percent of the value.

Chianti wine tasting: Cantine di Leonardo, Vinci

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So much Italian wine and so little time to drink, unless you make your way to the 2011 Vinitaly event in Verona from April 7 to 11. We attended a pre-event launch dedicated to wines from Lombardy at the Pirelli Skyscraper in Milan, where we tasted some of the best wine Lombardy has to offer.

There’s no doubt that Franciacorta sparkling wines are the flag bearer for Lombardy wines, and they are carving a niche for themselves internationally as well. With heads of the chamber of commerce, the Lombardy region and representatives from the various local wine associations in attendance, there was plenty of local pride on display.

Lombardy wines have much competition from other famous Italian wine producing regions like Tuscany and Piedmont, and over recent years steps have been to improve quality and highlight local character in the wines.

Vinitaly 2011: Italian wine from Lombardy

Continue reading: Vinitaly 2011: Italian wine from Lombardy tasting event Milan

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For Christmas in Italy, the Italians have gone all partiotic, with Italian sparkling wine, or spumante, beating French champagne in sales over this festive season. Figures from the Assoenologi association indicate that production numbers of Italian spumante, which already overtook champagne last year, will remain higher than champagne. The latter should still recover somewhat this year after a drop in sales of 27 percent when the recession hit hard last year.

In Italy we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to Italian wine for the festive season. 380 million bottles of spumante have been produced this year, compared to the 370 million from Champagne. Italy can also expect some good exports from this figure, as the country itself consumes less sparkling wine than Spain, France and Germany. For our tips, the cradle of Italian sparkling wine is in the Franciacorta valley of Lombardy, while some fine examples from Trentino-Alto Adige can also be found. Cracking one open with some panettone is guaranteed for a good Christmas celebration.

Source | ANSA

Photo | Flickr

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We’ve already shown you how to make limoncello, with our homemade limoncello recipe, and now we look at the creamy limoncello variety, “crema di limoncello”. It has a less alcoholic taste and still served cold, can be a lovely refreshing alternative to a drink that some people may find too strong. It’s a bit like a slightly alcoholic and creamier lemon sorbet, to give you an idea.

‘Crema di limoncello’ can be used as the classic after dinner digestivo or amaro, or it can even be used as a companion to dry desserts. You can still serve it very chilled, in frosted glasses, making it a good way to clean and refresh the palate after a meal.

To make crema di limoncello you need 9-10 freshly picked lemons, preferably not treated with pesticides as they need to be as flavoursome as possible, 2.5 litres of long life milk, 2.5 kg of sugar, one vanilla sachet, one litre of alcohol.

Preparation: wash the lemons, cut away the skin and leave the flesh to marinate in the alcohol for about ten days, in hermetically sealed containers. When the lemons are ready, boil the sugar in the milk for about five minutes on low heat and add the vanilla. Leave to cool. Mix the lemons and alcohol together with the milk and when mixed, strain the mixture and then bottle. The crema di limoncello needs to be kept in the fridge, although the milk mixed with alcohol should still last a while.

Photo | Flickr

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Umbria Wine Festival is one of the most important wine festivals here in Italy which will take place in Perugia from 4 to 25 April. Born from a collaboration with the University of Perugia (Faculty of Agriculture), this event will take place in the beautiful cloister of Saint Peter which houses the Faculty of Agriculture. Visitors will not only have the opportunity to taste the best wines from the region but also judge their quality. Local winemakers will share their expertise and lore with the public, taking them on a fascinating journey through the history of winemaking in the Umbria region. This year the spotlight will be cast on Passito (a variety of wine produced from raisins and semi-dried grapes) and other meditation wines which, among other things, are also the interesting subject of a course you can take at the faculty of agriculture!

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Italy’s famous wine fair, Vinitaly, will take place in Verona from April 8-12 this year, and will continue the constant growth in the event. More than 4,000 exhibitors will be on display as part of a program with Italian wine tastings, meetings and seminars on Italian wine. Tickets can be purchased online, taking advantage of a discount, and cost 35 euros for a day or 70 euros for the whole four days.

It’s often difficult to get accommodation for the fair, so book early and take a look at the Veronafiere site for accommodation in Verona (at the time of Vinitaly it can cost between 125 and 160 euros for a double room). The Pro Loco site also has some good information on hotels, restaurants and Verona city events, if you’re still lucid after all that wine tasting!

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Not quite a culinary tour of Italy in a Porsche, the ‘Via dei sapori “in” Porsche’ at Udine is a chance to get close to some luxury cars and enjoy a hearty Italian meal from Friuli, too. On March 24th the Porsche centre in Udine is hosting some famous chefs from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region as part of the initiatives of the Via dei Sapori group.

The evening involves more than 45 chefs who will prepare dishes in front of the guests, to then indulge in some Italian food and wine matching with some of Friuli’s great wines. Restaurants featured come from all over Friuli, and will be celebrating the coming of spring. For more details, including the restaurants present, see the Via dei sapori in Porsche web page.

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