White Merlot In Ticino, Southern Switzerland

Overview Video of Visit to Lugano, Ticino, Southern Switzerland—

Below is a brief video tour of the beautiful and spotless city of Lugano in southern Switzerland.

Click the three dots below the video to expand this post, if needed.

White Merlot from Ticino—

The Merlot grape makes up 80% of the wine grapes grown in the Ticino province of southern (Italian speaking) Switzerland. White Merlot wine was developed there in the mid-1980's and is now produced near the city of Lugano by more than one winery. It's fresh, vibrant, zesty, slightly quirky and delicious.

After finding a supposed 'wine bar' that would not let us inside because it was a restaurant and was filled to capacity, my brothers and I ambled back to our hotel on the shore of Lake Lugano. About a minute from the hotel we noticed what looked like a wine bar/restaurant named Agua on Piazza della Riforma, and so we nipped in. Sure enough, they had (and we ordered) a 2024 bottle of Fiore di Chiara white Merlot, produced by Paolo Basso (World's Best Sommelier in 2013). This 12.5% alcohol wine (named after Paolo's daughter) is creamy with zesty acidity. Delicious!

Menu from An Anniversary Dinner with Friends—

Antipasto & Wine

Marinated prawns and langoustines with sea asparagus and yellow cherry tomato cream.

La Sparviere. Monique. Franciacorta DOCG Brug Rosé.

Primo & Wine

Garganelli fresh pasta with zucchini flower pesto, confit tomato and pine nuts.

Specogna. Sauvignon. Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC.

Secondo & Wine—

Beef fillet with Chianti Classico sauce, roasted potatoes with rosemary and sage; crunchy vegetable ratatouille.

Castello di Radda. Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG. 2022.

Dolce—Grape sorbet with fresh berries.

Torta Celebtrativa & Wine—Millefoglie.

Ronco Calino Franciacorta Satèn.

Reminder—Book Launch Dinner in Caunes Minervois!

Join is on September 16th at the Cantine du Curè in Caunes-Minervois.

Free Recipe from The Winemakers' Cooking Companion Cookbook—

The Winemakers' Cooking Companion cookbook includes 108 recipes from 18 countries—contributed by winemakers, winery chefs and winery owners. Units are both metric and American, and several recipes are marked as vegetarian or vegan.

Some lively book launch events will take place this summer in my village in southern France—including at La Cantine du Curé wine bar/restaurant when winemakers and chefs cook up a storm of recipes. There will also be an event at the Green Cat art gallery.

Recipe—

This recipe, although from an American winery, is from Italy.

More Free Chapters From The Book Vino Voices: Wine, Work, Travel, Life—

I'm continuing to provide all chapters from my book Vino Voices: Wine, Work, Travel, Life for free here during the coming months. Originally written over a decade ago, this book has been revised and is available as an e-book. It is 230 pages long and includes interviews with more than 45 professionals in a dozen countries who work in the world of wine, and explain why they love their work. It includes more than 100 photographs.

Click below to download chapters seventeen and eighteen, about a hilltop couple making memorable wine in Slovenia, and an Australian ecologist tending vines with care in Marlborough, New Zealand.