Frescobaldi Tenuta Perano: Tasting The Chianti Classico From Their Newest Estate

There's a 700-year story that the Frescobaldi Family has maintained in Tuscany which has a strong bond towards the world of wine. In the year 2017, Marchesi de' Frescobaldi acquired a new addition to their already substantial wine empire pegging the number to seven estates in Tuscany. Prior to the acquisition, they have been managing the estate since 2014. The six other estates are Castello Pomino, Castello Nipozzano in Chianti Rufina, Tenuta Castelgiocondo in Montalcino, Tenuta Castiglioni in Val di Pesa, Tenuta Ammiraglia in Maremma and Remole. In addition to their impressive portfolio, there are also the world-renowned Masseto, Ornellaia, Luce della Vite, Danzante and Attems.

Genuinely Good Lucanian Cuisine at Becco della Civetta in Castelmezzano

The drive through Basilicata Region opens up to a charming little surprise. Concealed in the Lucanian Dolomites at an altitude of around 1000 meters is the town of Castelmezzano, a peaceful jewel with a breathtaking landscape of the mountain ranges. Its undisturbed tranquility and resplendence has enchanted anyone who crosses its path. In fact, it is among the towns comprising the Borghi Più Belli d'Italia (Italy's Most Beautiful Villages) and The Telegraph's list of Italy's 19 Most Beautiful Villages in 2017. 

Dine and Cruise at Volga Volga Restaurant in Saint Petersburg, Russia

With a system of rivers and canals running through Saint Petersburg, seeing the city from the water allows a different perspective in observing the resplendence of the metropolis. There are the usual boat tours that can be taken along the water but what can really be fascinating is dining while cruising along Neva, the largest river that flows along most of the center of the city. Volga Volga, a part of the Ginza Project, is a restaurant on a double-deck riverboat that's tastefully furnished for diners who want something particularly elegant and relaxing at the same time. 

Amaro Formidabile: The Award-Winning All-Natural Handmade Italian Bitter

Amaro Formidabile stands out from the rest of the amari for two reasons. It is made with all natural ingredients and done manually by its creator Armando Bomba. Unlike the other amari in the market, Amaro Formidabile is produced by cold maceration in grain alcohol of various botanical ingredients without any aid of additives, colorants, caramel or any type of aroma that's either synthetic nor natural that are extracted from raw materials that most industries use.

 

It has garnered a couple of prestigious international awards namely the Gran Medaglia d'Oro (Grand Gold Medal) at the Spirits Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2018 and the Medaglia d'Oro (Gold Medal) at the International Spirits Challenge 2019. 

Discovering Cantina Imperatori Viognier on a Vineyard Lunch with Chef Max Marioli

Chef Max Mariola, the Italian chef famous for his TV cooking program on Sky Gambero Rosso and Executive Chef of the Boscolo Group of Hotels in Italy and Europe, finds the optimum pairing for Cantina Imperatori Viognier IGP Lazio with his summer dishes. For starters, he prepared a fresh and tasty version of Panzanella, a typical Tuscan tomato and bread summer dish, wherein he added some baccalà (salted cod) then served them in individual jars. Continuing with the same wine, he cooked an aromatic and simple Pasta with Garlic, Mint and Pecorino Cheese. The lunch ended with Maritozzo filled with Ricotta, Peaches and Vanilla. Max is known for his clean and linear kitchen made of seasonal ingredients with little elaboration and straightforward cooking techniques that are within everyone's reach. A native of a town close to Rome, he reinterprets well the traditional regional dishes that he knows by heart to his original versions.

Dziaugsmas Restaurant in Vilnius: Lithuania’s Best Restaurant

Opened in 2017 and it immediately became the second best restaurant in Lithuania just as few months later. It then moved up to the first position for two years in a row, 2018 and 2019. And to underline this success, it is consistently fully-booked with a capacity of 64. That's the phenomenon that Chef Martynas Praškevičius of Dziaugsmas Restaurant has created in the gastronomic scene of Lithuania. Located in the city of Vilnius, this three-level restaurant has a contemporary environment of gray monochrome of steel, stone and wood wherein the dishes are magnified in the subdued and minimal setting, in the true sense of culinary protagonism.

Elements in Rome, Italy: Fusion Sushi by the Champion of Sushi Cup Portugal

Sushi as we come to know it to this present day has been made in Japan since the Edo Period, around 200 years ago. It has been around even much before with a different method of preparation wherein the fish is fermented with rice vinegar, rice and salt, while the rice is discarded afterwards and not consumed. During the Edo Period, the haya-zushi or fast sushi was invented and it became the symbol of Japanese cuisine. It's a kind of sushi assembly that we know wherein both the fish and rice mixed with vinegar can be eaten at the same time. With its incredible popularity, sushi has gone global, spreading all over the world and even conjoined with the local food culture of some countries. 



Gorgona, The Wine of Hope by Frescobaldi and The Island Prisoners in Italy

On an early warm morning of the 20th of June 2019, our curious group of fifty people comprised of sommeliers, journalists and trade professionals in the wine sector boarded a chartered boat at the Italian port of Livorno. The group was led by Lamberto Frescobaldi, a 30th-generation Tuscan winemaker and the president of the Marchesi Frescobaldi Group, flanked by Nicolò D'Afflitto, Frescobaldi's Chief Oenologist. 

The destination: Gorgona Island.

Hamlet + Jacks in Saint Petersburg: A Taste of Modern Russian Gastronomy

One of the most promising young talents in modern Russian gastronomy, Chef Evgeny Vikentev, presents his innovational cuisine at Hamlet + Jacks Restaurant in Saint Petersburg. The restaurant that used to be an old jewelry workshop is located just a short distance from the luxurious DLT Department Store and the Hermitage Museum where it commands a continuous flow of local and international diners. The five founders, musician Hamlet Movsisyan, Evgeniy Litvyak, Evgeniy Khitkov, Evgeniу Tonkov and Chef Evgeny Vikentev bestowed their restaurant the distinctive name Hamlet + Jacks which pertains to their names.

Max Cekot Kitchen in Riga, Latvia: An Unforgettable Dining Experience

A meal at Max Cekot Kitchen leaves an indelible impression. From the minute you enter the main door until you stand up from the table in conclusion of your meal, everything is well thought out, focused on you as a guest and the food as the protagonist.

Opened in September 2018 by Chef Patron Maksims Cekots at a location that one would describe as the least likely place to open a restaurant, Max Cekot Kitchen continues to prevail in providing a phenomenal gastronomic journey given to excellent quality, naturalness and creativity. His kitchen is an original representation of Baltic and Scandinavian cuisines. 

The Gourmet Kitchen of Chef's Corner in Riga, Latvia

It's not everyday that you find a hamburger that's as succulent and delectable as Chef's Corner does it and for sure it's not everyday as well that you get to be served a burger with a pair of black rubber gloves to eat it with. It's surprising at first but as you take your first bite in that juicy burger, you will be thankful that they thought of giving you a pair. Of course for the burger purists at heart, eat with your hands and enjoy each bite!

Restaurant Cru at Tallinn: One of Estonia's Best Chefs Cooks

You can clearly note that you won't get hungry in Tallinn. This 13th century UNESCO World Heritage Site not only boasts of its fairy tale streetscapes but also the innumerable restaurants that have occupied most (if not all) of the ground floor of the colorful medieval houses in the old town. There, at Viru Street, one of Tallinn's busiest pedestrian streets, stands Restaurant Cru. With a little bit of maneuvering once inside its arched doorway and through their small courtyard, the restaurant opens up to an elegant restaurant divided into two dining halls.

Art Priori in Tallinn, Estonia: A Silver Spoon Fine Dining Excellence

Art Priori is a restaurant where fine art and high cuisine share a space together. Opened in 2015 in one of the more quiet cobblestone roads of the old town of Tallinn, Art Priori is an imperative gastronomic (and artistic) stop for those who are looking for something that's out of the usual tourist route. It is decidedly one of Estonia's best restaurants as evidenced by its Best Fine Dining Award in the Silver Spoon, the highest attainable quality label the excellence of Estonian gastronomy and being in the White Guide, a very important authoritative guide of the restaurant culture in the Nordic countries. 

Dining on the Top: Rome’s Rooftop Terraces

When summer lands in Rome, there are two directions where the gastronomic roads lead to. While most head to the direction of the nearby coasts, where the sea breezes undertake its rejuvenating role, another path heads upwards towards the rooftops. There might not be the caressing sea wind or the endless sea that gives a fantastic view, but there is the unparalleled picture perfect panorama of the Roman skyline filled with distinctive church domes, terracotta roofs, and ancient Roman monuments. Coupled with the exquisite Italian cuisine, and a sunset that gives that flaming orange tint in the sky and a cocktail in hand, Rome's rooftop terraces are the places to be right now when you are in the city. Here are some of rooftop terraces to visit for dining and for cocktails while watching the sun go down over the enchanting city of Rome. 

The Flair: Rooftop Restaurant of Hotel Sina Bernini Bristol in Rome, Italy

Christened with a new name and a new identity, the rooftop restaurant of Hotel Sina Bernini Bristol in Rome sets sail under the command of its new executive chef, Alessandro Caputo just a few months ago. A young chef who grew up in Sicily, one of Italy's celebrated islands for its rich and strong Mediterranean gastronomy, Alessandro creates a kitchen with indications of Italian and European cuisines marked with French style and cooking techniques. He has a contemporary approach with well-defined flavors that distinctly identifies the ingredients. Techniques, rigid attention to the quality of of the raw materials and years of training is a perfect amalgamation in the evolution of his autographed kitchen.



Cocktails With a Roman View at The Court of Palazzo Manfredi

Located inside the 5-star luxury hotel Palazzo Manfredi, The Court, the newly-opened cocktail bar bestows a phenomenal view of Rome's iconic ancient Roman monument, the Colosseum. Atypical of the position of popular cocktail bar terraces in Rome, The Court is actually one floor down. From the hotel's main entrance, take one flight of stairs to go down and the courtyard opens to an awe-inspiring place. Flanked by two high walls with a 7-meter long travertine counter on one side and living room on the other side, The Court resembles an open air theater with a widescreen view in front - the majestic Colosseum and the Ludus Magnus, the ruins of the greatest gladiatorial school of ancient Rome.

Jacopa Rooftop Terrace in Rome, Italy: The Carribean Terroir Daiquiri Night

On the first summer night of August with the perfect temperature and rhythm, the Carribean Terroir Daiquiri Night colored the rooftop terrace of Hotel San Francesco with different shades of daiquiris. Jacopa Cocktail Bar, located on the rooftop terrace of Hotel San Francesco in the Trastevere area, hosted the daiquiri night featuring three artisan rum producers expressing different terroirs and styles: Clarin, Hampden and Veritas.



On the Table With Adelight, The Summer Plate of Adelaide of Hotel Vilòn

They refer to it as their summer princess, we cite it as one of the best gastronomic delights of summer. Gabriele Muro, Executive Chef of Adelaide Restaurant of Hotel Vilòn created his latest dish dedicated to this season. For the whole summer, he proposes a full healthy meal served in just one plate.

Called ADElight, the dish is composed of black venere rice bordered by thin slices of avocado then topped with various seafood and summer vegetables. 

Breakfast at Grand Hotel Plaza in Rome, Italy

Stepping inside the magnificent centuries-old Grand Hotel Plaza gives its guests a dramatic welcome at its main hall, the Salone delle Feste with its richness of frescoes, velvet tapestries and immense crystal chandeliers. The majestic Art Nouveau details that greet the eyes is just the beginning of the Grand Hotel Plaza experience where the golden age era displaying its untouched prominence. This historical hotel in the heart of Rome has its unblemished antiquity to partake with its guests who are highly appreciative of arts, elegance, culture and gracious hospitality. 



Genuinely Japanese at Junsei Restaurant Kaiten Sushi in Rome, Italy

Although Italian gastronomy dominates the restaurant scene in the Rome, a kaleidoscope of choices give broad possibilities on assorted cookeries. However, in a big city like Rome, there is only a sprinkling of good Japanese restaurants serving authentic cuisine. One option in the Testaccio area is Junsei Restaurant where the kaiten sushi (or rotation sushi) plays protagonist. It's a rotating conveyor belt that moves past the counter or nearby tables containing freshly-done small plates of sushi and the diners sitting nearby can freely pick out what kind of plate to take aside from the dishes that can be ordered from the menu.