Photo by Owen KanzlerMarinated olives, roasted peppers, finocchiona, cold pasta salad, fagiolini e tonno in insalata and ricotta cookies. Packed and ready to head out for the month. The warehouses are closed, the winery folks are on a skeleton crew, the cars are gassed up. Italy is going on vacation.
From 10:00 o’clock Tuesday morning until 10:00 o’clock PM one of our Italian wine importers and I ran around North Texas, tasting wines to restaurants. Appointments one hour apart and 14 different wines from Franciacorta to Vernaccia, Super Tuscans to Barbaresco. And we'll do it again, Today. It was 95°F on Tuesday. With intermittent showers, known in these parts as turd-floaters.
So while Italy dozes off in the hammock of their choice, we will be readying their largest market (the US) for the holidays. Some of them will come in September or October and they will be tanned and full of harvest stories. We welcome their participation in making 2007 the best year yet for Italian wines in America. It will not be by accident that this is happening. Lots of worker bees bringing back pollen from the fields to feed the queen.
So enjoy, Italy and Italians. We will think of you between the soaked shirts and label stained bottles, as the many ambassadors are out in Davenport, Iowa and Mobile Alabama, Tucson, Arizona and Frisco, Texas, making this thing work so the quality of life in Italy will improve. And the wines too.
Wednesday, have a 9:30 AM first appointment, so this will be an uncharacteristically short posting (for me). We have wine to sell and friends to make, in places like Fort Worth and Southlake, Texas.
From 10:00 o’clock Tuesday morning until 10:00 o’clock PM one of our Italian wine importers and I ran around North Texas, tasting wines to restaurants. Appointments one hour apart and 14 different wines from Franciacorta to Vernaccia, Super Tuscans to Barbaresco. And we'll do it again, Today. It was 95°F on Tuesday. With intermittent showers, known in these parts as turd-floaters.
So while Italy dozes off in the hammock of their choice, we will be readying their largest market (the US) for the holidays. Some of them will come in September or October and they will be tanned and full of harvest stories. We welcome their participation in making 2007 the best year yet for Italian wines in America. It will not be by accident that this is happening. Lots of worker bees bringing back pollen from the fields to feed the queen.
So enjoy, Italy and Italians. We will think of you between the soaked shirts and label stained bottles, as the many ambassadors are out in Davenport, Iowa and Mobile Alabama, Tucson, Arizona and Frisco, Texas, making this thing work so the quality of life in Italy will improve. And the wines too.
Wednesday, have a 9:30 AM first appointment, so this will be an uncharacteristically short posting (for me). We have wine to sell and friends to make, in places like Fort Worth and Southlake, Texas.
Photo by Erwin E. Smith
