Close

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

As the world suffers this terrible pandemic it’s important to stimulate our minds and still educate about Italian wines, especially supporting the Italian wine industry as the country continues to struggle, but at the same time remain strong to push forward.  I hope all my readers are staying well and please stay home.  It’s important for everyone...

937

The wine region of Piedmont definitely holds a special place in my heart and I’ve always been very impressed from many kinds of wines produced there. Along my travels I stopped in at one winery, Paitin, within the Barbaresco wine region and had a personal tasting with Giovanni Pasquero-Elia, son of Secondo Pasquero-Elia whom founded the wine estate...

766

This month we want to introduce you to Italian wine and the best way to learn and understand it.  To tackle Italian wine as a whole is a huge undertaking considering Italy has almost 2,000 native varieties according to Ian D’Agata. This is what I also love about Italian wine since there is always something new to discover. We’re going to break it d...

1194

Within Italian wine you have the typical designations of vino da tavola (table wine), climbing up to IGT, DOC and then DOCG wines.  Within the Chianti Classico DOCG in particular there is another set of categories starting at the “annata” level, known as vintage.  Above that are your Chianti Classico Riserva wines with additional aging.  Then comes...

896

I have been intrigued by the wines of Sicily for some time now and am always excited about the opportunity to try them, especially those of Mt. Etna.  Being onsite at Firriato, walking on the soils, experiencing the climate and admiring the landscapes I’ve discovered is what makes these wines so special.    Upon arrival in Catania I was greeted by...

968

For a long time now I’ve heard about the wines of Elisabetta Foradori, but had yet to try them.  I attended a tasting and tried a couple of the teroldego wines that she produces.  Until I did my research into the Foradori winery as well as studing for my Italian Wine Scholar certification I didn’t realize that impact she has made on the wine indust...

1290

Nothing gets me more excited when it comes to Italian wine than having the opportunity to taste grapes that I don’t too often have the opportunity to taste.  Going to the Gambero Rosso event in Boston earlier this summer provided me that opportunity. If you’re a regular reader of my column you know that I love the white wines of northern Italy, spe...

1298

Liguria is one of the wine regions I don’t write about too often on here just due to the opportunity of not trying wines from there too often. Earlier this summer I attended some tastings and tried a variety of unique grapes from Liguria. The grapes included pollera nera, cruvin, rossese di dolceacqua and good old vermentino and sangiovese. Let’s d...

2875

A couple weeks ago I attended a Masters class in Boston hosted by the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico and led by Jeff Porter.  It was a horizontal tasting discussing the diversity of Chianti Classico and its 9 communes including: San Casciano in Val di Pesa; Tavarnelle Val di Pesa; Barberino Val d’Elsa; Poggibonsi; Greve in Chianti; Castellare in C...

1280

Le Marche is located in the central eastern part of Italy and is the 2nd hilliest region after Umbria.  Its capital is Ancona, which runs down to Monte Conero, the highest cliff on the east coast.  It forms what is known as the elbow of Italy or il gomito d’Italia.  Le Marche is dominated by mountains and hills and is a rather undeveloped region co...

1220

Today we will be exploring lambrusco from the region of Emilia Romagna. I'm thrilled to be hosting and featuring lambrusco this month as I don't think it gets enough attention that it deserves. It's a shame that some of these wines including lambrusco, pinot grigio etc. face tarnished images from the days of when the quality was low and the focus w...

951

This month we are highlighting the island wines of Italy.  Obviously a broad range as Italy has over 450 islands with some of the largest being Sicily and Sardinia.  There are plenty of wonderful smaller islands to explore that produce wine as well including Capri, Ischia, Elba and more.  I’m taking you to the island of Sardinia, known as Sardegna ...

956