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Gone Fission...
Going off the grid for a bit. Nothing's wrong, just need to step away from the world and dip my pole in cooler waters - the rods have heated up and we're approaching critical mass. ...back soon.written...
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Ferragosto Forever
Onward through the fog...What must it be like, for everyday to be the 15th of August? To be lulled into semi-consciousness by the steady patter of the waves upon the shore? To awaken only slightly as...
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Surf, swell and tides on Verdicchio Island – Matelica, the monster wave.
I first encountered La Monacesca in the late 1980’s – My friends Eugenio Spinozzi and Sam Levitus (partners in Tricana) imported it into the USA. The wine was in a long, renano (Riesling shaped) bottle...
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A short personal history of Arneis
Arneis is an indigenous grape variety found in Piedmont that is enjoying a wave of popularity in this moment. Many people are discovering the charms of the little rascal. But it wasn’t always so. I...
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In praise of Trebbiano Abruzzese - a short personal history
Dino Illuminati, me and Daniele Spinelli,- 30 years agoWithout a doubt, the one indigenous Italian white that I have the most experience with over the years is Trebbiano Abruzzese. Because of that, I...
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The Old Fool's Guide to Erbaluce
Inside my office there is a closet, a ramshackle affair, with whatever I haven’t yet figured out how to deal with. On the middle shelf there is this bulging box of wine labels, which has become my...
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Things I’ve learned about wine and life on the road in America
Taking a break from my latest series on native & indigenous Italian grapes.♪ They've all come to look for America♪What can be a finer fast-track to peek into the present state of the wine trade...
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Wail Watching in the City of the Angels
Another week, this time in my native place. As a native Angeleno (and Californiano), the circumstance of my birth was preceded by the dreams and desires of my grandparents. It was the American Dream...
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The Unbearable Lightness of Being… Fiano di Avellino
From the Native & Indigenous Italian Grapes SeriesVesuvius in Eruption by Joseph Mallord William TurnerIn flyover country USA in the 1980’s, finding decent white wine from Italy was a gamble. As...
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The Rise of The Italian Wine Specialist in America
An O-N-D Pep TalkFor the past four months I've felt like the mother of all road warriors, in service of Italian wine. I really thought I was finished. I really did. But the wine gods back home in Italy...
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Tocai Friulano - For every funeral there is a second line (and a silver lining)
From the Native & Indigenous Italian Grapes SeriesIt was April of 2007, in Verona. Colleague and dear friend, Andrea Fassone, called out. “Come outside, there is a procession at Vinitaly. They are...
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The Fate of Italian Wine in a Strange, New America
All across Italy there is an army of souls standing over fermenting tanks, hoses running everywhere, with the ubiquitous sweet-sour scent of fermentation, laboring long hours in the annual miracle of...
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Zombies and VR, supermarket bargains and wine shop $100 gems – what I’m...
While this site is primarily my web log of thoughts, emotions and observations from the wine trail (mainly in Italy), since I have “retired” I’ve written a few pieces for the Dallas Morning News. If...
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Aging vs. Evolution (In Old Wine and Young Humans)
In a recent article for Antonio Galloni’s Vinous, Ian D’Agata made a case for age worthiness in regards to a white Italian wine, Verdicchio. Being a lover of Verdicchio I devoured the article (link...
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Restoring the "Master Class" for the Wine Trade
It is very fashionable these days to call something a master class. Do a search and you will find any number of master classes, with famous folks like Martin Scorsese, Dan Brown and Oprah Winfrey...
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Are the French more interested in Italian wine than Italians?
My French cousins seem to be on a roll. They stand up to political bullies, they smoke when and where they want and they appear to be more curious about Italian wine than their Italian cousins. At...
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Who do we think we are?
After almost thirteen years writing this blog, observing the wine trade, from within and without, and folding those impressions into the culture-at-large, I have to say I have begun to wonder, who are...
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The State of Natural Wine in Flyover Country
While researching an upcoming article for the Dallas Morning News, I’ve had the opportunity to experience, first-hand, the state of natural wine here in flyover country. In a surprising turnabout from...
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La fille Américaine in France, making wine (naturally) in Italy - Pt I
Anne Marie was from a new generation of global citizens. Born in America in the late 1980’s, from parents who immigrated from Europe, her mother was from France, father from Italy, and they met among...
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Les vins naturels – 2 new releases – one from France and one from Italy
Two new wines that have recently graced the dinner table. Both made with biodynamic practices and are Vin Demeter.The French wine – 2015 Chateau Peybonnehomme-les-Tours “Energies” is a Blaye Côtes de...
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