The Vendemmia, or grape harvest, is an exciting time of the year at Podere Erica, our organic winery in Chianti.

It was 10 years ago that I said “If we are going to make wine, we should make a good one.” That is when we hired Marco to be our farm manager and winemaker a...

In this case, “The Man” is Marco Giordano, our winemaker.  And his passion is making wonderful biodynamic wines from our organic and biodynamic vineyard and ...

When I am missing Italy (especially at this time of the year when it has been awhile since my last trip and the next one won’t be for awhile), all I have to ...

There have been a lot of new things going on at Podere Erica since I wrote my last blog. Besides all the happy sippers at our wine tastings, we now have happ...

This is our favorite frittata recipe, but you can adjust the ingredients to your preferences or what you happen to have in the fridge.  Some people add small...

Every November throughout the Tuscan countryside, you'll see people spreading nets under the olive trees and climbing up into them to strip away the ripe oli...

As many of us celebrate this Memorial Day by chilling out with friends or family, I think it is a good idea for us all to take a moment to remember those who...

During one of our stays at the Podere we were lucky to happen upon an interesting and beautiful religious display in the center of the little town near us, S...

Taking place this weekend is the famous Italian vintage auto race called the Mille Miglia.  It was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twen...

Carnevale, which means “farewell to meat”, lasts for 10 days, beginning this year on January 30th and ending as always the night before Ash Wednesday, which ...

Frittelle di Riso are a typical Tuscan sweet made for Carnevale. Frittelle di Riso Ingredients: 1¼ cup Arborio or other short grain rice 3 cups milk 2 Tb sug...

Cenci Toscani are traditional Tuscan cookies made for Carnevale. Cenci Toscani Ingredients: 1½ cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 4 Tablespo...

Schiacciata means ‘squashed’ or ‘flattened’ in Italian and usually refers to the savory, salty and olive oil drenched flat bread found in Tuscany. However, a...

When the temperatures drop, stay warm with these Italian soup recipes. We may think of Italy as having a warm, sunny Mediterranean climate, but in the winter...

Every region of Tuscany has its own version of this soup, depending on what grows there in abundance. The type of greens may vary as well as the beans, the v...

A hearty soup perfect for cold winter nights! Tuscan Sausage & White Bean Soup Ingredients: 1 lb sweet or spicy Italian sausage ½ cup chopped carrots ½ cup c...

The name of this soup is actually a misnomer. It originated here in the States within the Italian-American community.  The old folks called it “minestra mari...

We often make Cioppino for Christmas Eve and we try to use 7 fishes in the stew. Not exactly following the Italian Feast of Seven Fishes tradition, but yumm...

Until I visited Italy at Christmastime, I never realized the differences between how they celebrate Christmas and how Americans do. On the Italian holiday ca...