Finding New Stories

And new paths to the hearts of Americans

All through the years we tell these tales about Italian wine. Stories to get people to feel more comfortable with the different wines, the names, the languages. And after years and years of these stories, whether it's about blood from a saint or a prophet, tears from the Mother of God, bees that flock to the vines or the culinary travels of a hedonistic monk, sometimes these stories finally reach a point, on the wine trail in Italy, where it is time to lay some of them to rest.

After reading several of Jeremy Parzen’s blog posts, about Valpolicella, Aglianico, Sangiovese and Vin Santo, I started thinking about doing an event in the Circolo del Vino in my neighborhood. Very lucky to have that room and 30 or 40 people who might be interested in coming to hear me talk about it. Maybe even get Jeremy to drive up from Austin and work the room with me. And taste those wines. With a few surprises thrown in as well.

So that’s the plan. Oct 20th at Jimmy’s. Busting the myths. Blowing ‘em up. Putting them to rest. The time has come. If you are reading this and live near and are interested, get on the mailing list . We are going to harvest new stories from the wine trail and it is shaping up to be a lot of fun. I will just be back from a harvest trip in Italy. Jeremy is there right now, blogging his every vine, every meal, every wine; check it out, his blog is bustling with buoyancy.

This year, even though it has been tough, very tough, for many people, it has also been terrific for Italian wine. We’re having an incredible year. The Italians are back from their long summer vacations, and have been hitting the streets, tanned, stylish and ready to work long hours. A post coming soon, we all have been having long days working the markets and then putting on wine dinners. This week, next week, it’s an endless feast. I haven’t seen the French, the Australians, the Spanish working the markets as vigorously. Maybe that is part of the reason Italian wine is the dominant imported wine in America. Grazie ragazzi. More coming.

written by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy