Have you ever wondered what it must be like to be someone else? In this case, that someone else being Lionello Marchesi, the globetrotting wine mogul, who doesn’t know a stranger, or isn’t shy about giving a pretty woman a hug or even a kiss.
How can you blame him? The world is Lionello’s oyster, and some would say he has earned to right to circle the globe 10 times a year in search of the life that will sustain his youthful energy. At 74 years on earth, Lionello has witnessed and lived in Italy in historic, some would say even epic, times. He hasn’t always been so fortunate.
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| Luigi Mungiolo - Limoncello Maestro |
Nor has Luigi Mungioli. Both fellows have had their share of trial and tribulation. Both are eminently positive about the life in front of them and both of them have overcome enormous odds. Lionello loves to make and drink Brunello. Luigi loves to make and drink limoncello. The last few days have been very good to us.
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| Sausage Paul - King of the Grill |
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| Championship Ping-Pong |
Not that everything is rosy. Etna is stirring. As are a few Sicilians on these pages. But we will return to Palermo soon enough to continue the journey. For now, enjoy a few moments of levity, some pictures, and good times. Times that define? Maybe not. But as work goes, even on a Sunday, it ain’t too bad to be a “lifer” in the wine biz. And if that means a little more work, whether it be on a Sunday or an extended Monday, I’m not complaining. After all I have some righteously good Brunello, probably the best I have ever tasted from Lionello’s Coldisole estate. And the crema di limoncello from Luigi, let’s just say, he has managed to bring a little of the Old World to the New World. And we are all so much happier because of it.
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| The Sunday lineup |
As for Lionello? Whether it be in Sausage Paul’s kitchen on a Sunday or Jimmy’s Circolo del Vino on a sold out Monday, he will be just fine, just fine. As long as there is Brunello and a pretty gal to drink it with.
written and photographed by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy
