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Appetito

<div dir="ltr">Planted, harvested and aged in NY, Li Valentine has a background in education and marketing, with a passion for travel and all things wine. With roots in the boot, she has a special interest in Italian wine and travel. She is a certified wine professional and Italian Wine Specialist. In addition to writing about wine (<a href="http://discover.thewininghour.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://discover.thewininghour.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1697217195025000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2tvR1J02Hhj2IanKTun4fa">discover.thewininghour.com</a>), she is the founder of The Wining Hour, Inc., which includes a wine boutique that caters to the wine lover, as well as the vinous winechat (#WiningHourChat) on X (formerly Twitter).</div>
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<div dir="ltr">Follow Li on all social at @thewininghour.</div>


Li Valentine

Vette Sauvignon Blanc from Tenuta San Leonardo, a crisp white from Trentino.

Features

Vette from Tenuta San Leonardo: A Mountain-Fresh Sip of Spring

<p><strong><b>Samuel Ghelli</b></strong> is an Italian scholar and educator based in New York. He teaches and directs the Italian and Food Studies programs at York College, CUNY.</p>


Samuel Ghelli

Oak wine barrels, reflecting the “full barrel” at the center of the Italian expression volere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca.

Volere la Botte Piena e la Moglie Ubriaca: The Arithmetic of Desire

Tarallucci bread rings on a rustic table with a small glass of red wine

Finire a Tarallucci e Vino: When the Table Has the Final Word

<pre>Rob LeDonne is a humor and culture writer whose work can be found in
Billboard, The New York Times, The Guardian, Vogue, Rolling Stone, and
Interview. He lives in Brooklyn and is of Neapolitan and Sicilian
descent.

Learn more about Rob at his <a href="http://robledonne.com/"><u>website.</u></a></pre>


Rob LeDonne

Lavazza Vanilla Affogato K-Cup coffee box with swirls of vanilla and espresso art.

Season’s Drinkings Gift Guide: Italian-Style!

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Johnny Motley is a writer based in Brooklyn. He studied religion at Harvard and taught humanities before entering the wilds of freelance journalism. He writes about travel, men&#8217;s fashion, whiskey, and the occasional off-one piece on Stoic philosophy. He would probably tell you that his louche travel stories on Substack represent his finest work. </span></p>


Writer Johnny Motley enjoying a glass of red wine in the Sicilian countryside.

Johnny Motley

Bottle of Ben Ryé Passito di Pantelleria with citrus fruits, pastries, and a glass of dessert wine.

A Regional Guide to Sicilian Wines with Donnafugata

<p>I am the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Appetito magazine. I like Italian food &amp; drink, a lot. I am also an award-winning novelist and a regular contributor to the New York Times. More about my work can be found at <a href="https://andrewcotto.com/">Home &#8211; Andrew Cotto</a>.</p>


Andrew Cotto

The rolling wine country of central Italy.

Discovering Hidden Wine Gems and Winemakers in Central Italy

<p><strong>Mary Welsh</strong> is a Rome-based contributor for <em>Appetito</em>. After earning her BA from Barnard College and becoming a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, she completed her MA in Cultural Heritage at the American University of Rome, where her research focused on women’s roles in sustainable wine marketing and tourism. Today, Mary manages social media for Untold Italy and writes <em>Forks and Corks</em>, her Substack exploring the intersections of food, wine, culture, and travel, along with her own personal reflections. Follow her on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/maryuncorked" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.instagram.com/maryuncorked&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1761663283490000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0uCC-qQPiGid71GjDRnUxk">@maryuncorked</a>.</p>


Mary Welsh

Street view of Soave with pastel buildings and the ancient town gate framed by vineyard hills.

A Peek Inside Italy’s Most Beautiful Village – Stories from Soave

The wines of Alto Adige are produced in the mountainous terrain of northern Italy.

The Alpine Wines of Alto Adige are Fresh and Crisp

Appetito Editors

The ITA Talks "Grand Finale" of 2025 took place on June 17th.

News

Appetito Hosts ITA Talks: “Grand Finale” Panel Series Wrap Up

<p>Sarah Campise Hallier is the Associate Editor at Appetito Magazine. She is also a Board Member of Poggioreale in America Inc, a nonprofit committed to preserving the history and cultural heritage of Western Sicilians and their diaspora. Featured in Italy Magazine, The Local IT, la Repubblica, and We the Italians (any many others), Sarah enjoys covering everything from cultural identity to the evolving Italian-American food experience. A California girl at heart, when she’s not crafting stories, she’s chasing down the best food and drink on her travels and sharing them at <a title="https://www.instagram.com/foodiesfromca/" href="https://www.instagram.com/forkboundfoodies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@forkBOUNDfoodies</a>.  Subscribe to her newsletter <a href="https://www.sarahhallier.com/about-1">here</a>.</p>


Sarah Campise Hallier

Woman picking up a glass at the start of the Santa Barbara LIVE Art & Wine Tour.

Italian wine