Wherein guest blogger Bene finishes her Roman adventure on a fishy note — and regrets missing out on fried artichokes.

Big news here at STBNY HQ, folks: I’m pregnant! With twins, no less. While this is amazing news for STBNY the person, it’s been tricky for STBNY the blog. Here’s what’s next.

Bene’s next installment finds her vistiting Ristorante L’Arcangelo. I’ll spare you puns about the food being heavenly, but I couldn’t resist thisFra Angelico fresco of The Annunciation. (The Archangel Gabriel — get it?)

Bene’s reportage from Italy continues. In this installment, she goes for the two-fer, dining at one of her favorite Roman spots twice in one day.

I’ve been pretty pressed for time these days, which is one reason why I’m delighted to kill two birds with one stone in this post: supporting one of my favorite wine peeps and offering all you lovely STBNY readers a nice deal.

This is one of the most enjoyable wines I’ve had all summer. And I’d say that even if it weren’t $14.99, a darn good price for a wine with this much personality.

Want to get a serious wine lover’s knickers in a twist? Just ask him what he thinks of the 100-point scoring system. Nothing is quite so controversial — and ubiquitous — as the 100-point scale.

Italian Wine Week ended on a strong note. (It also ended a week ago, so I’m taking a very Italian approach to deadlines here. What can I tell you, it’s August.)

Another day, another region, another variety. This time we’re heading over to Liguria for the 2005 Lupi “Le Braje”, a wine with a split personality if there ever was one.

Wherein I raise my glass to a versatile summer wine that’s like Reese Witherspoon in a glass.