On every radio show we like to taste at least one wine. Here’s the wine we tasted this week.

Wine Tasted: DEADBOLT  Winemakers Blend $15.99 An intriguing red wine for people who make their own rules. This is blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Petite Syrah and Syrah varietals from California. With a deep ruby, purple color, a distinctive red fruit nose and flavors of black cherry, mocha and brown spice.

Arnaldo Caprai Wine Picks

Montefalco Sagrantino 25 Anni

Montefalco Sagrantino Collepiano

Montefalco Rosso

Grecante Grechetto dei Colli Martani

Hot Summer Wine Gadgets

HOST CHILL

FREEZE

TWIST

TILT

TILT MINI

The skybar™ ONE Wine System:  is the only wine accessory of its kind that perfectly chills, elegantly pours, and naturally preserves your favorite bottle of wine. Vacuum technology preserves an open bottle of wine for up to ten days by removing the oxygen that oxidizes the wine allowing your favorite bottle to taste better for longer.

Vino2Go™, The Original Wine Sippy Cup: The Vino2Go double wall tumbler is the simplicity of style, an active wine lovers dream come true. This BPA-free durable drink-ware has a familiar wine glass shape making it a convenient and easy to use product for the beach, tailgate events and other fast-paced adventures.

The VinoCaddy™: Hand-crafted by one of our local designers, the VinoCaddy is the perfect way to carry two wine glasses and a bottle. There are four material options available: domestic walnut, domestic oak, up-cycled domestic wormy chestnut (now extinct) and certified sustainable Bamboo.

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Fabio Viviani’s Italian Kitchen

Fabio Viviani is probably best known as the Fan Favorite on Bravo’s hit show Top Chef, but this celebrity chef has just earned a new title of New York Time’s best-selling author for his recently released cookbook Fabio’s Italian Kitchen. In the book, Fabio Viviani shares 150 family-inspired recipes, stories from his childhood, and the secret behind real family cooking.

Fabio Viviani’s claim to fame might have came via reality TV, but he is far from a fad. This Florence born Italian stallion started working in restaurants at the age of 14 and has been making his mark in and out of the kitchen ever since. Viviani came to California when he was 27 years old and owns two popular Italian restaurants in the Golden State: Cafe Firenze and Firenze Osteria. In February 2013, Viviani decided to tackle the windy city opening Siena Tavern in Chicago. The sexy and chic urban tavern is already a hit with hipsters and foodies alike.

In this video, Wine Oh TV’s Monique Soltani interviews Fabio Viviani and find out what ingredients get him excited, the secret to making your recipes sizzle, and finds out Fabio’s favorite food and wine pairing and most memorable food and wine moments!

Fabio’s Italian Kitchen

When Fabio Viviani was growing up in a housing project in Florence, Italy, the center of his world was the kitchen, where his mother, grandmother, and especially his great-grandmother instilled in him a love for cooking and good food.

Now he shares the best of Italian home cooking while telling the story of his hardscrabble childhood, his success as a chef in the United States, and the women in his family who inspired him. In more than 150 delicious recipes, Viviani takes us from his family home, where his great-grandmother taught him to make staples like Italian Apple Cake and Homemade Ricotta, to the kitchen of a local trattoria, where he honed his craft cooking restaurant favorites like Gnocchi and the Perfect Tiramisu, and then across Italy where he studied each region’s finest recipes, from Piedmont’s Braised Ossobuco to Emilia Romagna’s Perfect Meat Sauce.

Fabio’s Italian Kitchen ($24.99) is a celebration of food and family that brings all the joy, fun, and flair that Fabio Viviani embodies to your kitchen. To purchase CLICK HERE!

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Wishes in Wine Country will be held on Saturday, May 18th 2013 at Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards and features over 40 restaurants and wineries at the Grand Tasting on the Lawn. From 2:30 to 5:30pm, guests will sample wines from Cakebread, Coppola, MacPhail, Hop Kiln and more on the lawns surrounding Sonoma-Cutrer’s world class croquet courts. Tasting guests can also sample signature hors d’oeuvres from celebrated local restaurants including John Ash & Co., Santé and more. In a new twist to the event, guests will also have the opportunity to play a 15 minute game of croquet guided by professional players. As in previous years, guests will find a variety of unique getaways, wines and experiences at the silent auction.

The evening continues from 5:30-9:00pm with the Sunset Dinner, where guests will enjoy a three-course dinner on the Sonoma-Cutrer Terrace. Dinner will be prepared by local culinary talent and will be paired with exceptional wines from the area.  While enjoying the view overlooking the vineyards and croquet courts, guests will enjoy a short live auction that has been curated to feature the most hard-to-come-by items and experiences. Tickets are now on sale for the Grand Tasting ($150 per person) and the Sunset Dinner ($300 per person and up).

To purchase tickets CLICK HERE or for more information go to www.sf.wish.org or call 415-982-9474.

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Baseball and Bubbly

Mumm Napa and the World Champion San Francisco Giants teamed up to create two new Napa Valley sparkling wines. What better way to celebrate the best team in baseball than with a bottle of bubbly or better yet two? The perfect pairing between one of the oldest teams in Major League Baseball and one of California’s top sparkling wine producers has expanded in more ways than one.

Mumm Napa wines will be featured at tastings during select games, in the ballpark at special events throughout the season, and during team celebrations. Every Giants player will receive a bottle of the Championship Brut with a one-of-a-kind etched label featuring their number and name. The new super-premium sparkling wines are licensed by Wine by Design, the official wine licensee for Major League Baseball Properties.

Wine Oh TV’s Monique Soltani attended the Sparkling Wine Release Party at AT&T Park where she gets to the bottom of the bubbly with Mumm Napa Winemaker Ludovic Dervin and San Francisco Giants Manager Bruce Bochy. In this video, she shows us why America’s favorite pastime just got a whole lot better.

Mario Alioto, Senior Vice President, Giants Business Operations

“Mumm Napa has been the celebratory sparkling wine of choice for both our 2010 and 2012 World Series Championships.We are pleased to extend this relationship with Mumm Napa to our fans in 2013, with the creation of these unique Giants wines.”

Giants Brut Prestige ($27) will be more widely available throughout the baseball season. As the name suggests, this wine is a special bottling of Mumm Napa’s Brut Prestige, the winery’s quintessential Napa Valley sparkling wine. The Giants have had a long standing love for Brut Prestige: during last year’s playoff series and World Series Championship, they celebrated each series win with the wine and now it has become the official sparkling wine of the team.

Championship Brut ($125) is a onetime run, limited edition release of only 2,012 bottles created to celebrate the Giants’ 2012 World Series win. A prestige cuvée, or top bottling, the wine comes from specially selected lots from the winery’s best vineyards in the Napa Valley.

Championship Brut, a super-premium, limited edition bottling created to commemorate the Giants’ 2012 World Series Championship, and San Francisco Giants Brut Prestige are available at  AT&T Park, select restaurants, bars and retailers, and can be found online at sfgiants.com/wine.

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Time for Taiwan

If you are looking for an authentic experience on your next vacation destination then look no further! Our trip to Taiwan continues and this time we are setting sail for Sun Moon Lake. Sun Moon Lake is one of Taiwan’s Top Travel Spots. Crowned as one of the Eight Wonders of Taiwan, the Sun Moon Lake Scenic Area attracts more than six million visits each year. Taiwan might be the heart of Asia but Sun Moon Lake is the heart of Taiwan, literally. The Sun Moon Lake, located in the middle of Taiwan is the only natural big lake in Taiwan. Divided by Lalu Island, the Sun Moon Lake scenic area got its name from the unique terrains that look like the sun on one side and moon on the other. While swimming in Sun Moon Lake is not permitted, unless you are there in the fall for the annual 3-km race Swimming Carnival of Sun Moon Lake, the area is famous for boating, hiking and biking.

The Sun Moon Lake sits within Nantou County. If the central region is the heartland of Taiwan, Nantou is Taiwan’s heart: it is the only landlocked county on the island! Nantou is farm country with its economy heavily dependent on it. Rustic areas and an abundance of agricultural products are a large draw for visitors. There are dozens of recreational farm areas to visit, if you are looking for a romantic or family trip to the countryside.

If you travel about 30 minutes away from Sun Moon Lake you will find the Nantou County urban township of Puli. In 1999, Puli was damaged by the 921 earthquake. Hardest his was a small rural village inside Puli called Taomi Village.10 years after the devastating earthquake Puli re-invented itself to be the pride of Taiwan’s eco-tourism industry. Puli might be known for its tourism, but it’s famous for four things: water, weather, women and wine! In addition to the Puli Wine Factory there is also a nationally owned brewery in the township of Puli.

In our first video, we showed you the east and parts of the southern region of Taiwan, now we are diving in head first and headed straight for the center of the island. In this travel video, Wine Oh TV’s Monique Soltani partnered up with the Taiwan Tourism Bureau to bring you 10 days in Taiwan. Tune in as we show you Sun Moon Lake like it’s never been seen before, and find out how to eat, drink, and even dance like the locals.

Biking

Sun Moon Lake features the only full-range 3D tours (lake, sky and land) in Taiwan. The lake cycling trail has been dubbed by CNN as one of the most beautiful cycling trails in the world.

Cycling craze hit Taiwan in 2007 and has been going full speed ahead ever since! Cycling around Sun Moon Lake is an experience that can’t be missed. You can locate a variety of bikes at the Giant bicycle shop right below the Visitor Information Center.

The route around the largest lake in Taiwan is a three-hour ride, where visitors can enjoy lake scenery, experience Thao aboriginal culture and learn about the local ecology in the Nantou County. If you arrive in early spring, you can even catch the cherry blossoms near this mirror-like lake.

Boating

Boat tours are a great way to take in the sights and sounds of Sun Moon Lake. They run every 30 minutes between 9am and 6pm. You can also take bikes on the boats. Most of the local hotels will sell you a boat ticket without charging an extra fee or you can just pick one up at any pier. You can also rent a private boat should you feel so inclined, they are available at the Shueishe Pier and Itashao Pier.

Hotels

Hotel Del Lago Sun Moon Lake: dellago.com.tw

Address: No. 101 Zhōngshān Rd, Yuchi Township Nantou County, Taiwan 555

Hotel ONE Taichung: taichung.hotelone.com.tw

Address: 532 Ying-tsai Road, West District, Taichung, 403 Taiwan

Restaurants

Cedar Tea House: Shuili Township, Nantou County, Taiwan

Sun Moon Restaurant: Nantou County the Township, Shueishe CunJhong 125

Full House Resort Hotel Restaurant: 8 Shuixiu street, Nantou, Taiwan

5 Dime Restaurant: #6, Fu-Hue E Street, Shi Tun Area, Taichung

Activities

Ita Thao: Ita Thao is called Barawbaw in thao language. The Han people call it North Cave. It was named Te Hua village after the restoration of Taiwan, and is under the administration of Yuchi. Barawbaw is the last residence of the thao people at Sun Moon Lake. On account of the continuous stream of tourists, many Han people moved here to go into trade. Therefore, Ita Thao becomes the most populous area around the Sun Moon Lake. There are stores, restaurants, and hotels in the village. Also the thao people establishes the “thao Cultural Village” for tourists to appreciate the traditional culture, songs, and dancing of the thao tribe. Barawbaw (Ita Thao) is the entrance to the Shuishe Mountain.

Want some tips planning your trip to Taiwan? Check out the Taiwan Tourism Bureau for more information!

To watch our first travel video from Taiwan: Click Here!

We discovered the hidden treasures of Taroko National Park,Taiwan’s top tourist destination. Then we take off to Tainan and show you how Taiwan’s oldest city is keeping up with the times, from culture to cuisine the Heart of Asia has it all.

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So here is a selection of Winerist’s best wine destinations for the summer of 2013!

By: Diana Isac, Winerist.com

Douro Valley

The Douro Valley is probably one of the most understated wine regions. The views are breathtaking with vineyards being planted in terraces supported by ancient dry stone walls, creating striking landscapes. Most tourists will head straight to the famous Quintas where you will be able to meet with the winemaker and taste the delicious and refreshing Arinto and Avesso. The boutique hotels of this region are most certainly one of its highlights. Situated on hills, overlooking the river, you can dip your toes into the scenic pool at Quinta da Veiga, enjoy water sports at Quinta da Ventuzela or swim under the olive trees at the cozy and welcoming Casa das Torres de Oliveira .

If you would like us to take care of you the whole way, we can recommend our flavor-filled Luxury Three Day Tour Cruise or our Five Day Cruise and Quinta wine tour.

River cruises of the Douro Valley

Puglia

Puglia has most certainly been the dark horse of Italian wine travel! With more than 50 million olive trees planted in this region, Puglia is famous for its love of earthy things, home cooked food, delicious wines and extremely friendly people! There is so much to see, but some of the highlights are certainly the medieval towns of Lecce, Ostuni and Gallipoli. You cannot miss the Puglian cuisine or the Make Your Own Wine experiences. For the perfect stay, you can rest at Le Fabriche where you can enjoy anything from wine tastings, horseback riding and the gourmet restaurant is right outside your door. For a traditional boutique villa, go to Masseria Alchimia. The charming design and the spa on your doorstep provide the perfect relaxing break. If you want to do something active, the tennis and gold courts are only minute away. You can also enjoy one of the more active tours that are available throughout the year.

Cooking with the local Mums in Puglia

Santorini

This is not a region which many of us tend to associate with wine travel. We have uncovered it this spring through its multitude of spectacular hotels well known for their breathtaking views of the Caldera and sunsets. Choosing a favorite tour would be just as difficult as choosing a favourite place to stay. Wine and culinary experiences are a great new way to explore this paradise island. Our recommendations are for the Cooking and Tasting Santorini experience and for the Santorini Wine Roads. Both these experiences will enrich your wine and food knowledge. All those aside, imagine sipping a glass of wine in the pool overlooking the volcano?

Infinity Pool and sunset views from Astarte Suites

With Winerist we are constantly uncovering regions across the globe which are filled with flavors, enjoy some of the most breathtaking views and where you will get to discover some of the most amazing wines you will ever taste. If a wine holiday is on the cards, you can always email us to find out more about the most hidden gems of the wine world. Our regional experts are in constant exploration. If you are stuck and do not know where to start from, why not look at Winerist’s Wine Regions to Watch in 2013. We hope you find these as amazing as we do!

By: Diana Isac, Winerist.com

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