Branzino and Orata – Try them!

Branzino and Orata are delicious.  They are also very popular here in Italy.  Indeed, they are considered something of a delicacy.  You really should try them.

Do you know what Branzino and Orata are?  Well, if you do, you can stop reading now -even if you might like to take a peek -just to be sure.

On the other hand, if you have no idea whatsoever what the blazes Branzino and Orata are, then please keep reading.  It’ll be worth your while, I assure you.

I love both of them!

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Fragolino Time

Fragolino is a mysterious, and for some, illegal drink.  For those not in the know, fragolino is a type of grape, which gets its name from the Italian for strawberry – fragola.  This grape tends to produce a wine with a sort of strawberry flavour, hence its ‘fragolino’ moniker.

The ‘ino’ part of the word ‘fragolino’, pronounced ‘eenoh’, indicates that something is much smaller than normal in Italian.  Example: bicchiere – glass, can become bicchierino – small glass, as in a small glass of wine.   Back to the strawberry wine.

This Food and Wine Friday post takes a look at why fragolino wine became illegal, and looks at a fragolino drink which is sold, supposedly legally, in Italian supermarkets.

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Italian Wine and Labels

I had an interesting discussion, in English, with some of my Media Relations students today.  What we looked at was how Italian wine could be promoted, and several valid points were made.

I thought the points raised were quite interesting, so I thought I’d share them with you as this week’s Food and Wine feature.

First of all, we chatted about how the profile of the wines of a particular Italian region could be raised.

Then we talked about how to reduce the bewildering choice of wines with which customers are often confronted in supermarkets.  Supermarkets are, for the majority of wine consumers in both Italy and abroad, the outlets where wine is purchased.

So, how can the profile of Italian wines be increased? Read more

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