An illustration of Velena and Dragos preparing a caprese on a terrace above a Tuscan vineyard
The Atlas of European Taste

Every mile tastes different

Country by country, dish by dish, first-hand where it matters. Italy first.

Illustration
519
Italian wine denominations
in the atlas
Two
Named humans.
No anonymous copy
Two sources
Minimum, or it does
not get published
Never
An invented rating,
price or review count
Begin in Italy

Twenty regions, one table

Every region eats differently, and the reasons are geography, history and stubbornness. Choose one.

An illustrated diorama of Italy seen from above, the Duomo, the Colosseum, Vesuvius, the trulli of Puglia and Etna picked out across the peninsula
Enter Italy →
The classification

Europe's food, in eight worlds

Vino
Wine, spirits, vermouth, amari, grappa.
Live
Formaggi
Cheese and all dairy: butter, cream, the cultures of Europe.
Live
Dispensa
The pantry: olive oil, vinegar, honey, preserves, truffles, salt, spices.
Live
Pasta, Pane & Riso
Pasta shapes, breads, rice and risotto, polenta, grains and flours.
Coming
Salumeria
Cured meats: prosciutto, salami, nduja, jamon, the charcuterie of Europe.
Coming
Mare
Fish and seafood: species, coastal dishes, the fish maps of Europe.
Coming
Orto & Mercato
Vegetables, fruit, herbs, markets, seasonality, fresh produce.
Coming
Dolci & Caffe
Pastry, desserts, gelato, chocolate, coffee and the bar.
Coming
Featured world · Vino

Barolo, and why it takes so long

Nebbiolo from eleven comuni south west of Alba. The disciplinare, read properly: which grapes, which years in wood, and what the word riserva actually obliges a producer to do.

Read the entry →
Region
Piedmont
Protection
DOCG
Grape
Nebbiolo
Comuni
Eleven
The Journal

First-hand, or not at all

Velena and Dragos on the trail at Prato Piazza in the Dolomites, the Tre Cime di Lavaredo on the skyline behind them South Tyrol

Prato Piazza, on foot

The Tre Cime behind us, and a hut at the end of it.

Not yet published
Velena and Dragos at dinner at the Leitlhof in San Candido, a plated dessert and a bottle of local red on the table San Candido

Dinner at the Leitlhof

An Alto Adige red, and a kitchen that means it.

Not yet published
Velena and Dragos beside the Almhuette Edelweiss sign at Prato Piazza, a Dolomite peak rising behind the alpine meadow Prato Piazza

The Almhuette Edelweiss

What they pour you when you have walked up to it.

Not yet published
Who is writing this

Two people, four things we could not stop building

Velena and Dragos are entrepreneurs before they are publishers. It always starts in the same place: something grown properly, somewhere worth the drive, and a refusal to take anyone's word for it. Three of the four below are ours. We say so every time one of them appears.

Velena and Dragos in robes on the balcony of their room at the Leitlhof, San Candido
Sister publication

Velena & Dragos

velenadragos.com
Where we stayed. Hotels, boutique properties, the rooms and the views. Every region page here that sends you somewhere to sleep sends you there.
Visit →
A honeybee on honeycomb
Our brand  ·  Dispensa

HoneyBee & Co.

honeybeeandco.uk
Six generations of Transylvanian beekeeping, brought to the UK by Dragos. Raw, traceable, single origin. The bees come before the harvest, which is the whole point.
Visit →
Photograph to come
Our brand

Lavender Gold

lavendergold.co.uk
Lavender wellness, co-founded by Dragos with Alexander Jordan. One plant, grown properly, left alone, and not improved by anything added afterwards.
Visit →
Photograph to come
Where we learned it

Velena Lifestyle

velenalifestyle.com
The studio the two of us built first, making content for food and hospitality brands. It is also the company that owns this atlas, so you should know it is here.
Visit →

The disclosure, in plain words. HoneyBee & Co. and Lavender Gold are our own companies. Velena & Dragos is our own publication. Velena Lifestyle is the company that owns all of it, including this site. Whenever any of them appear anywhere on Mozzarella Miles, including inside an article, we say so at the first mention, every time. Some links to other people's products earn us commission and are always marked. The test before anything is linked: if we would not link it for free, we do not link it for money.

The Sunday Table

One letter, every Sunday

One region, one bottle, one dish and one thing worth arguing about. No round-ups, no affiliate dumps.

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