Grapevine Experience

13/02/2024

“Living is your greatest work of art” (Suzanne Branciforte, 1961 – 2024)

One month ago, on January 13, our beloved founder and director Suzanne Branciforte passed away in Genova, Italy, after a brief illness.
NY-born, Suzanne lived extensively in California, France and Italy. She was a certified Sommelier (Italian Association of Sommeliers – AIS,) and earned a WSET Level 3 Award in Wines with Distinction.
Suzanne worked as a wine communicator with prestigious Italian wineries in regions throughout Italy, and founded Grapevine Experience as a full service provider so that more people could discover and enjoy the inimitable Dolce Vita Italian lifestyle. With her blog Italian Grapevine (italiangrapevine.com,) she reached Italophiles, foodies, and wine-lovers in the whole world. A proud member of Le Donne del Vino, Suzanne always had an active role in the Association, and last year became vice-delegate for Liguria.
Uniquely talented, Suzanne graduated from Harvard and got her MA and PhD from UCLA. She wrote the best-selling multimedia program Parliamo italiano! (VHL, 5th edition) for students of Italian language and culture, and founded the school Study in Italy in Genova in 2000. Suzanne was also a writer and translator, and interpreted for Nobel Prize winning economists and authors, as well as for politics during the G8 2001 meeting.
We all admired her joie de vivre, her insatiable thirst for knowledge and the brightness of her aura. Suzanne loved life in every single way and truly lived it to the fullest and for us this is one of her most important teachings.

14/11/2023

Powerful women in wine 🍷!
A privilege and an honor to know them! Can you identify…
Alison Napjus of
Laura Catena
Marilisa Allegrini .winery
Marzia Varvaglione
Stevie Kim
Sylvie Cazes
Maria Teresa Varvaglione
😉 Suzanne Branciforte

20/09/2023

When your ring, your wine and your dress all go together….😉😂🥂
Great trip to Campania, Benevento, wine 🍷 witches🧙 and more! Keep an eye out for updates on Italian Grapevine! 🍇

23/08/2023

Take a dip in the blue waters of Ponza, and read about my latest adventures in the world of wine:

I know it’s August and we’re supposed to be on vacation, but I just can’t keep myself out of the vineyards! When I decided, pretty spur of the moment, to escape to a Mediterranean island with cryst…

25/06/2023

Wine, women and fun! National Congress of Le Donne del Vino 🍷 in Piemonte last weekend! A chance to taste, talk, share, make new friends and … do business! Why not? When women get together, great things happen!!!!

11/06/2023

When gals get together to taste wine…🥂
Inauguration of .bosoni
With

30/04/2023

Lucky me, getting to taste at Vinitaly with Filippo Bartolotta... How much fun was that?

Lucky me got to participate in a tasting sponsored by the Consorzio Tutela Lugana DOC at this year’s Vinitaly. Led by wine expert at large, Filippo Bartolotta, this was one stylin’ tasting! Get a l…

16/04/2023

Still plenty to report on from Vinitaly 2023. Here is our Italian Grapevine report on the tasting of Italian white wines led by Master of Wine, Gabriele Gorelli. There's more to Italian whites than just Pinot Grigio!!!

Re-imagining Italian Whites: this was a Master Class appropriately enough held by a Master…. of Wine. Gabriele Gorelli MW treated us to an informative, dare I say entertaining?, presentation …

04/04/2023

Red, red wine!🍷

01/04/2023

Kick off to at Opera Wine! 🍷🌟💫

10/03/2023

Promoting Italian 🇮🇹 wine 🍷 in the US 🇺🇸… On the road with and
Cin-cin! 🥂

01/03/2023

Le Donne del Vino della Liguria hanno la nuova delegata per il prossimo triennio: è Cinzia Mattioli, ristoratrice e sommelier. Cinzia è stata anche una delle socie fondatrici dell'Associazione. Prende il posto della collega ristoratrice Pervinca Tiranini. Accanto a lei due vice delegate: Suzanne Branciforte, wine comunicatore e sommelier, e Cinzia Tosetti, giornalista e sommelier.

A Cinzia e alle Donne del Vino della Liguria gli auguri di buon lavoro! 👏👏👏

Le Donne del Vino of Liguria have the new delegate for the next three years: Cinzia Mattioli, restaurateur and sommelier. Cinzia was also one of the founding members of the Association. She takes the place of fellow restaurateur Pervinca Tiranini. Next to her are two deputy delegates: Suzanne Branciforte, wine communicator and sommelier, and Cinzia Tosetti, journalist and sommelier.

Best wishes to Cinzia and Le Donne del Vino of Liguria! 👏👏👏