I was asked recently what wine region I would most like to live in full-time and after a few moments thought I surprised myself by choosing not Burgundy or Provence but Piedmont in Northern Italy.

I’M JUST back from Slow Food Terra Madre Salone Del Gusto 2018, the biggest international event dedicated to food — 1.2m people attended in 2016.

I was asked recently which wine region I would opt to live in given an endless budget and unlimited resources. After much deliberation I picked Piedmont in Northern Italy, home to the Slow Food movement, white truffles, hazelnuts, and wines made from Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto, writes Leslie Williams

I don’t do favourites. I have no favourite colour, book, song or wine. However, if I have noticed that in recent years I am drawn to fresher brighter red wines — Mencía from Spain, Blaufrankisch from Austria, Pinot Noirs from almost everywhere, and Nebbiolos from Piedmont.

The boy from the small Argentinian town of Murphy has taken a long and winding road via Barcelona, Southampton, and Tottenham, to see for the first time his family’s ancestral home in Piedmont, Italy, but Mauricio Pochettino feels at home in Turin — and does not think Spurs should feel out of place at the Allianz Stadium where they face Juventus tonight.

A wine bar and restaurant company co-owned by TD Mick Wallace made a profit of €40,000 last year, although the firm’s debts continued to grow by €63,732 to nearly €400,000.

This week I am returning to Italy with a scattered selection of suggestions that range from north to south.

The dreaded ‘C’ word is fast approaching so if you can be disciplined (or can lock the wine away somewhere) it is good to begin picking up some wines or at least thinking about what you will need.

It is no great revelation that our tastes in wine frequently change with time.

It is now 40 years since the Judgement of Paris when a blind tasting of Napa Valley cabernets and chardonnays scored higher than many famous names from Bordeaux and Burgundy.

In recent days the vineyards of Champagne and those of the Cote d’Or in Burgundy were both given United Nations World Heritage Status for the continuity and quality of their wines and ancient vineyards.

In recent weeks, I have been praising Spain as a source of good value but this week I want to focus on Italy.

A ‘time of great interior crisis’ early in his career turned Pope Francis into a family man and one who is determined that the Church puts the care of individuals above doctrine, writes Paul Valley

His autocratic style as leader of the Jesuits in Argentina was a chastening experience that shaped Pope Francis’ life and led to his transformation as champion of the poor, Paul Valley reports.

THIS is an interesting time in the world of wine.

THERE is an old adage about the wine industry that if you want to make a small fortune, you need to invest a very large one first.

ARE there any wines that are not improved by being paired with an appropriate food?

EVERY WEEK seems to bring news of yet another Bordeaux Chateau being sold to a Chinese conglomerate or insurance company so it is comforting to know that there are still some family operated wine producers that are thriving.

ALTHOUGH increasing numbers of us buy our wine at the supermarkets, this week I want to encourage you to remember the independent wine shops who can often provide more variety and unusual styles.

SO how many new year’s resolutions have you broken yet?

A woman has been pulled alive from the rubble of an apartment building destroyed by an earthquake in Italy.

Deaths were reported today when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake shook northern Italy.

Italy

SOMETIMES you do have to suppress a giggle at the flowery language used to describe wine — the cherries, roses and truffles, let alone the rubber, farmyards and even cat’s pee — which are fairly commonly used to describe wines.

ITALIAN police arrested 24 people yesterday, most of them Chinese, on charges of laundering about €2.7 billion from tax evasion, counterfeiting, prostitution and stolen goods.

Both the curious and those convinced the Turin Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ can have a brief look starting today and for a period of six weeks.

Voters are casting ballots today in Italy’s regional elections, which are being seen as an important test of popularity for prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

A massive oil slick released from a depot in Italy reached the country’s longest river today, threatening devastation to wildlife.

More than a million people have reserved places to see the Turin Shroud when it goes on public display this spring for the first time in 10 years.

AN Italian clinic said yesterday it would take in a woman who has been in a coma for 17 years whose family is seeking to have her life ended, as the Roman Catholic Church kept up pressure to keep her alive.

Senior Irish MEPs tonight said they were confident top European officials would sign-off on a multi-million euro handout to support laid-off Dell employees.

Recipe for Coffee Sabaudo.

FEARS for the wellbeing of an elderly Limerick widow increased last night at an Italian lake resort where she has been missing since last Friday.

Serves 4.

THE qualification of Wicklow’s David Connolly in an Olympic qualifying event in Germany this week ensures four Irish athletes have achieved the qualification standards for next month’s Winter Games in Turin.

DRIVING through Piedmont, the countryside in late October is gloriously autumnal. This is Barolo and Barbaresco region. Most of the grapes have already been picked and the leaves on the vines are turning a variety of orange.

Foot-and-mouth disease tests carried out on animals at Piedmont in North Co Louth, have returned fully clear.

Final foot-and-mouth disease test results taken from animals in the South East have returned negative.

Farmers in Co Louth will hear for certain today if animals had the foot-and-mouth disease.

Definitive results on two separate suspected cases of foot-and-mouth in counties Louth and Wexford are due this morning.

The mass slaughter of all sheep and some cattle on the Cooley peninsula began last night.