Tucked into Italy’s far northeastern corner, where the Alps tumble down toward the Adriatic and the borders of Austria and Slovenia blur, lies a region that quietly produces some of the country’s most elegant and expressive wines, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It’s a place of contrasts: mountains and sea, Italian warmth and Central European precision, centuries-old tradition and cutting-edge experimentation. For generations, this cultural crossroads has been a meeting ground for empires, merchants, and migrants, and today, for wine lovers seeking something both authentic and quietly extraordinary.
Italy is a country where history, art, and wine are woven together seamlessly, and few regions embody this as vividly as Veneto. Situated in the northeast of the country, Veneto is a place where grand canals and gondolas coexist with rolling vineyards and centuries of winemaking tradition. From the bustling city of Venice to the quiet hills where Garganega and Corvina thrive, this region offers not only a feast for the eyes, but also a remarkable variety of wines that reflect its geography, climate, and cultural heritage.
California’s wine industry is navigating a period of profound transformation. Over the past few years, the state has witnessed an overwhelming surplus of grapes, tumbling demand, drastic market shifts, and seismic distribution changes. Once buoyed by strong vintages and steady consumer interest, the landscape today demands both clarity and adaptation.
Savoie, sometimes spelled Savoy: Two different pronunciations have surfaced, perhaps as a regional thing. The first is “Sav-wa,” and the second is “Sav-oi.” It’s kind of like the difference between saying cow or bovine. This tiny little pimple of France has been endowed with viticulture for at least 2,000 years. What is the viticultural history of Savoy? Where is it exactly? What grapes are grown here? What bottle of wine would you expect City Vino to have on the shelf? Let us dive in.
The Guanches: One reference indicated that the Guanches might have been in the Canary Islands in the first millennium B.C. and were the first ones to inhabit the islands. About this time, the Phoenicians and Romans were pushing expansion limits all around the Mediterranean and up the Portugal coast, but there seems little evidence to support expansion beyond the Mediterranean and southward.
