Category Archives: Wine & Food

Poggio alle Mura and Brunello

Posted on November 19, 2013 by randysrules

Castles, Stones and Glass Poggio alle Mura today means “Banfi” to most people.  Soaring majestically above 2,400 acres of vineyards in an estate encompassing 7,100 acres on an elevated benchland above the Fiume Orcia about one-half hour south of Montalcino (give or take a century … Continue reading →

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Burano – Piazza Galuppi – A Day to “Go Fish”

Posted on February 11, 2012 by randysrules

Burano The small island community of Burano lies fifteen minutes north of Murano and the transfer point for the lonely vaporetto to Torcello.  From the Fondamenta Nove on the north shore of Venice, the one-way trip can take about forty-five minutes, and is worth every minute … Continue reading →

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Mate Winery – Montalcino – Oh, The Wines!

Posted on January 19, 2012 by randysrules

White Roads At Santa Maria Refugio, along a “white road” that is off of a “white road” between Montalcino and Poggio alle Mura (Banfi) in Tuscany, we searched for Mate Winery. The famous “white roads” of Tuscany are those shown as a double black line without … Continue reading →

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Cafe Life Venice by Joe Wolff – Book Review

Posted on March 23, 2011 by randysrules

Cafe Life Venice is A Guidebook to the Cafes and Bacari of La Serenissima, written by Joe Wolff, photography by Roger Paperno, and published by Interlink Books, Northampton, Massachusetts in 2009. In the style of his previous “Cafe Life” books … Continue reading →

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Castello di Brolio

Posted on March 22, 2011 by randysrules

Powerful Family, Powerful Fortress No, not imbroglio as in “fight”, or brolio as in “intermediator or negotiator”, but Castello di Brolio in the Chianti zone of central Tuscany.  This Brolio has many other definitions, most importantly as the home fortress (since 1141) of one of … Continue reading →

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Castello di Meleto

Posted on March 21, 2011 by randysrules

From the Fires of War Castello di Meleto sits comfortably atop a 413m above sea level hill at the end of a westerly trending ridge of the Monti de Chianti, above the Borro (brook) Massellone.  A side road off of route … Continue reading →

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Arizona Grub

Posted on February 18, 2011 by randysrules

Grub – That’s Western American vernacular for “food”! I just completed my annual review of collected periodicals for items worth archiving, and Arizona Highways magazine, as always, provided a file’s worth. The Arizona Highways 2010 “Best Places to Eat” in Arizona compendium included … Continue reading →

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Tuscany – Badia Coltibuono – The Good Harvest

Posted on January 25, 2011 by randysrules

High in the Monti del Chianti, looking out across the Val d’Arno to the villages on the Pratomagno far to the east, Badia Coltibuono (Abbey of the Good Harvest!) occupies a unique place in history, and yet has a welcoming and contemporary uniqueness today.  The stewards of … Continue reading →

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Sant’Antimo Abbey – Tuscany

Posted on December 15, 2010 by randysrules

The Abbey of Sant’Antimo is located in the quiet Val d’Starcia, a few kilometers north of the historic Orcia River and a few south of Montalcino, the popular Tuscan hilltown at the epicenter of Brunello viticulture.  The Abbey’s pastoral setting is overlooked by another small hilltop town, … Continue reading →

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Coffee and Clay

Posted on December 2, 2010 by randysrules

Artist David Lockie is the creative designer and co-owner with his wonderful wife Jennie of Mountain Arts Pottery, outside of Bozeman, Montana.  The pottery works and display room are “disguised” as the “Coffee Pot” Cafe – with wonderful coffee and … Continue reading →

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