We met with Loredana Tanganelli and her daughter Giada at Podere Scopetone on the outskirts of the old walled Tuscan town of Montalcino.
Loredana and husband Antonio Brandi have owned the petite estate of only about 2.5 hectares since 2009 when they merged their apiary business and land (La Melina) with that of Scopetone, which was originally planted in 1978 and owned by Federigo Abbarchi and Angela Corioni.
The soils on which their Sangiovese is planted and farmed organically are marne and iron-rich red silt, and sit at 450m on the north-western corner of Montalcino.
Although Scopetone are carefully organic, and only resort to pesticides and other controls when absolutely necessary, you won’t find reference to that on any of their labeling. They’re just too tiny to struggle through the bureaucratic hoops and paperwork.
These grapes are grown on some extremely famous property – it’s where Ferruccio Biondi, the man credited with inventing Brunello – planted his first Sangiovese in the 1870s. This is known as the Scarnuacuoia cru, and it’s Brunello’s oldest vineyard. 
Loredana, Antonio, and Giada are its most recent caretakers, and they take this responsibility seriously – crafting some of the finest and most traditionally elegant Brunellos you will find on the market. There are no over-produced, flavour and tannin bombs here.
Giada led us expertly through an exquisite tasting of the Rosso di Toscana IGT (lifted aromas of violets, roses and plums with crunchy sage and cherry), the delicately soft 2020 Rosso di Montalcino DOCG (basalmic with sour cherry), and the 2015-2017 vintages of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG.
The 2015 and 2016 are stunning wines – both ruby red with various nuances of cherry, plum, orange, mint, pomegranate, rose and herb.
But the 2017 version from the old Scarnuacuoia vines is the pièce de résistance. Translucent ruby with aromas of sour cherry and dusty rose, this wine shows off a frame of strawberry, cranberry, pomegranate and wild mint. Dried marjoram, rosemary, and sage echo on the palate which has an extended, mineral finish. Light leather and cured meat linger. There are no sharp corners or holes in this beauty.
These are gorgeously crafted wines, by some of the most modest, and loveliest people around. 
Available in Canada at Ontario’s LCBO, and throughout the US as per various importers, they’re also in the UK, at Berry Brothers & Rudd.
The Podere Scopetone wines are underappreciated unicorns, and fly far below the radar. Catch them if you can.
wines, and a beautiful Vermouth.
Translucent ruby red and medium-bodied, the Silio offers a fabulous nose and flavours of bright, sour cherry, violets and roses. Only lightly tannic, it lends itself to grilled chicken and mussles, or could be pressed into service to complement a skirt steak and roasted vegetables.
down, and people were despairing of the future, I read an article about Italy and how people were struggling there. 
That’s when I learned of Camilla Moccia and her family’s restaurant located in Ostia, on the lido to the west of Rome. This picture, taken by Camilla’s mother, Simona and shared in the 
We met Camilla, Simona and Bruno (father) last week in Ostia where we enjoyed a fabulous, handmade
dinner al fresco on our final night of a three week vacation. Bubbles preceded a beautiful,
fresh salad with burrata, tomatoes and crostini, and we feasted on her famous pasta – a lemon-ricotta ravioli, and classic cacio e pepe – followed by a piece of chocolate dolce heaven. As busy as she was that evening with all tables full, Camilla even took time to give us a pasta lesson. 
It was an enormous pleasure of ours to meet Camilla and her family, to experience their passion and cuisine firsthand, and to fulfil my promise to support them by visiting Il Bistrot della Pasticciona.
This bottle got a little lost in my wine cellar, and then you know, there was a pandemic, so we opened it at age 13 years. The cork broke and that made me worried we were going to be dealing with something less than lovely. But I was very wrong – it was absolutely stunning.
southwest of the Caribbean, well out of the path of any hurricanes, and just 17 km off the coast of Venezuela.
Usually when I venture to warm climates, wine is not an option, and because beer is not my ‘go to’ drink, I focus on the cocktail menus at the restaurants we visit.
published a recipe book of drinks called ‘How Can I Make You Happy’. And I was – very.
I drank the Lemon Drop before I remembered to take a picture, but the dirty Gin Martini with a whole dish of olives was a hit,
followed the next night by a Reverse Cosmo (aka Char-Tini). The Dark & Stormy was delicious, and again, I drank the Old Fashioned made with Diplomatico Rum instead of Bourbon before I realized I’d forgotten to document its deliciousness.
But the pièce de résistance was the Pornstar Martini, complete with its accompanying Prosecco shot.
This wine has a history going back 2,000 years in France’s Rhône Valley, but the first bottle I found and enjoyed was in Curaçao, off the coast of Venezuela. What a find it was at the Carrefour supermarket – it was incredibly fun to drink, and absolutely delicious. 
Rhône Valley, it’s made out of a maximum of 75% Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and 25% Clairette. Naturally sparkling, it undergoes the first fermentation in a vat and the second in bottle. 
Flavours include more white flowers and nectarine, Clingstone peach, and fruit cocktail. 
estate. Now that the world is reopening, I can’t wait to take a trip there some time in the next few years.
From one of the truly bona fide, historic and traditional Barolo houses comes a 2008 Barbaresco.
winellama 