Jennifer Gentile Martin

Being of Italian ancestry, Jennifer has a strong passion for her culture and wine, especially that produced from Italy. She writes a wine blog, Vino Travels, that promotes and educates folks around the world of the wide variety of grapes and regions throughout Italy. www.vinotravels.blogspot.com


The Langhe, pronounced “lahn-gay”, area of Piedmont is tucked in the southern part of Piedmont in the Cuneo province tucked between the Alps and not too distant from the Mediterranean Sea. Location is key in understanding where grapes are grown due to the influences created by the geography and climate, in this case, where the Alpine and Mediterran...

The Campania wine region is located in southern Italy on the western border of the Tryyhenian Sea, which has a large influence on the wines of this region.  The wine I’m sharing today comes from the San Salvatore estate founded in 1988 by Giuseppe Pagano with the famous Riccardo Cotarella as his winemaker.  He grows indigenous grapes of Campania in...

Umbria is a region in central Italy that is just to the east of Tuscany and is the only landlocked region throughout all of Italy. The town and wine appellation, Orvieto, is located in the southwestern edge of Umbria bordering the region of Lazio. If you’ve never been to Umbria it’s a must. It’s known as the green heart of Italy due to its lush for...

What is sustainability when it comes to winegrowing? There are a number of different ways a winery can practice sustainability. It's a way in protecting the environment including the earth and air, conserving water and energy, water management, increasing biodiversity, reducing pesticides and preserving the ecosystem for the future. These practices...

When one thinks of the great wine regions of Italy I’m sure the Lombardy wine region isn’t the first that comes to mind. If you’re a fan of pinot noir the Oltrepo Pavese is a region that one must seek out as it hosts one of the largest areas under vine for Pinot Nero. The Oltrepo Pavese is located along the 45th parallel where you also find the gre...

It’s time to revisit southern Italy to the region of Puglia, also known as Apulia, and highlight it’s primary red grape, Negroamaro. We’ll be exploring one of the prominent wineries of the region, Cantele, located along the Salento peninsula. The Puglia wine region is at the southern tip on the heel of Italy’s boot shape. It’s a land with a vast am...

Happy New Year Italian wine loving friends! I'm thrilled to start the New Year featuring one of my favorite Italian red native grapes, Aglianico.  Aglianico, pronounced "ah-lee-ah-knee-co", is an Italian native grape found in southern Italy, mostly in the Campania and Basilicata wine regions. It's a dark, almost black colored, grape that buds early...

As we enter the colder days heading into winter one can only dream of the warm days passed or sitting on an island soaking in the rays. Lets venture to the second largest island in Italy, Sardinia, to explore one of the well-known wineries, Sella & Mosca, and their Cannonau Riserva.  Sardinia is located in the western part of the Mediterranean. It’...

Brunello hails from the Tuscan town of Montalcino located in the Val d’Orcia, about 20 miles south of Siena.  This area was granted as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2004.  As most of Tuscany is known for it’s splendid landscapes, this area is rich in rolling hills, olive groves and forests.  It’s a rather close proximity to the Tyrrhenian Sea and...

In the fall of 2019 I had the unique pleasure to be a guest of the Firriato winery on the island of Sicily. Today I’m featuring their Etna Bianco, Le Sabbie dell’Etna, highlighting the main grapes in the blend along with the Etna Bianco DOC wine region.  The Grapes  The Etna Bianco that I’m sharing today is made up of two Sicilian native white grap...

The Franciacorta sub-region is located in the Lombardy region of northern Italy within the province of Brescia. Franciacorta is one the most prestigious, if not the most prestigious, producers of sparkling wines in Italy. The name stems from the Latin word, franchae curtes, meaning the properties that were free from tax during the Middle Ages. This...

The Blu Giovello wines have been made and exported to the American market for the last 30 years and have now come out with new labeling, hence why I had this opportunity to try these wines.   The Winery ~ Blu Giovello The first thing that caught my attention of these wines was the blue color of the bottles. It immediately reminded me of the Amalfi...