Charleston was buzzing with activity as the 2014 Wine and Food Festival took place.  One of the events I attended was billed as Passport to Pairings, held at the Thomas Bennett House, and sponsored by an innovative company, Rewined, that repurposes used wine bottles into wonderful candles.  Each guest received a candle and mine is Carmenère-scented, one of my favorite…

The last day in Rome dawned bright, but soon gave way to rain.  I wasn’t about to let the rain stop me, so with umbrella in hand, I set out in the direction of the Trevi Fountain.  The rain got heavier and navigating the narrow streets full of people with umbrellas was hazardous.  I forged on, turning down an even…

Our departure from Gubbio was not without problems.  It was raining (first time during the trip), but more importantly, there was a local run that morning and the tiny streets were blocked off while the runners got started.  I believe I mentioned the bicycle race that interfered with our day in Florence – what are the chances of encountering two…

Saturday’s day trip was to Spoleto, home of the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, conceived by Gian-Carlo Menotti in 1958. Charleston is home to the US version of the famous music festival. Spoleto is an ancient city built high on a hillside, dating back to 240 B.C.  Today, the city is accessed via a series of escalators that easily take…

Tuesday’s destination was Siena. I had a brief visit there three years ago and was anxious to return.  Siena is built on seven hills and to visit the city requires traversing many steep streets.  It is known for its magnificent black-and-white-striped cathedral and also for the bareback horse race called the Palio, held in July and August, and whose origins…

On Monday we made the drive to Pienza, a tiny Renaissance village.  The views out over the rolling hills were spectacular and I wandered the cobbled side streets taking in the charming architecture and browsing in small shops.  From Pienza, we made a stop at a beautiful 12th century Benedictine abbey, Abbazia di Sant’Antimo, with a bucolic setting among olive…

Last month I visited my home town of Cincinnati to visit friends and attend the Western and Southern Tennis Masters tournament. The culinary highlight of the trip was a wine tasting dinner at The Summit, a restaurant operated by the culinary arts program at  Cincinnati State.  The wines were presented by Vintage Point, a distributor with an eclectic collection of…

May has been a tasty month.  A friend, who also has a May birthday, and I celebrated our special days at McCrady’s.  Once again, the four course chef’s tasting menu did not disappoint!  Lee was in the mood for Merlot and we couldn’t resist ordering the Velvet Devil.  The Velvet Devil is made by  Charles Smith, an interesting character who…

A second visit to Two Boroughs Larder on August 3 proved to be as good or better than my first experience. The Larder was happy to allow me to bring in a bottle of wine and I selected a bottle of the 2008 Newton Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon that was mentioned in my post about the Newton Wine Dinner at Carolina’s….