Sunday, July 30, 2006

Hoopin' it up!

Motivation "in the hoop" w/the best in the biz, Carlo Pellegrini

This has been a tough couple of months. It's not always fun and games. The weekend brought me to NY for a "mission". Around the corner from the hotel, the Verona wine bar, Bottega del Vino, opened up a satellite here in NYC, with panini and espresso. Nice people. I was in town for just a short trip and an appointment with Charles Curtis, an American Master of Wine and the Moet Hennessy Director of Wine Education. Charles and I will be presenting a symposium on Nebbiolo at the Texas Sommelier Conference in August. More info here to come and on the Texsom link.


My friends Carlo and Patty met us in the city for a day at Central Park. It was hula hoop day. Carlo is a great soul a clown and a juggler and a bigger than life person in my life. Check out his site, Juggling Matrix. Patty, she’s just the best. All friends for many moons. And Kim too….we all hula hooped it up.

So why this posting? Eric Asimov is blogging about Arbois from Puffeney and Alder Yarrow over at Vinography is in Gravner heaven. The Italian in me is saying, "August is just around the corner, your mind will be on vacation for a few weeks."

Tomorrow I’ll be in Nebbiolo Nasa Prep center for the symposium, but today is all about the hula hoop. August isn't here yet.

Little did we know when we ran into a recent NYU grad that the hula hoop is cool again. All I wanted to do was to be able to do it again like we did so many summers ago. Lithe and effortless, our teacher showed us a few moves while Carlo showed her how to juggle. Simple pleasures, you don’t have to be in the investing class to enjoy this lesson. Or this day.

The wines? A walk in the park today. We started out with a little Prosecco with poached eggs and an egg white omelet. Lunch was light and easy, a few take out panini from Bottega del Vino and a sip of a nice Santi Ripasso. For dinner, a light salad and some fresh grilled seafood. To go with it, a fresh Pino & Toi from Maculan . All three wines from the Veneto, once known for cheap and plentiful wines. Now the Veneto is a lion again.

There's enough serious in the world these days....there's not enough good hula hooping, though. But that's about to change! See you back here on Wednesday


photo's by Patty Ferrini
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