Devotion, Direction and Dissent – The Divergent Mantra of Contemporary Italian Winemakers

It is an onerous task spotting the minor changes in societal shifts, when one is living in the present. By pulling back focus and envisioning a larger swatch of time, it’s easier to see. With most things, change takes place in incremental doses. In this way, winemaking in Italy has evolved. And along with that, the philosophies and direction in which the winemakers view their oenological palate going forward. We have seen a revolution in winemaking for 80 years in Italy, why would anyone think it would stop here?

Distilling it down into three areas - Devotion, Direction and Dissent - let’s dive in.

Trebbiano and Chicken - A simple meal which might just save the world

During the week, I banged out a piece, which upon reading and trying to edit it into a more peaceful position, decided to let it sit. It’s August, it’s hot. The world is burning up. What good would another screed be?

So, I went into the kitchen and took my knives to some skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts. With the oven preheating at 325°F, and the outside approaching 100°F, I took off my shirt. And put on a cooking apron, the one I got from Petra winery in Tuscany. I love that grease-stained smock. It’s army green and has seen a lot of skirmishes in this kitchen. The cats started to come around, for they have long sensed that when someone is in the kitchen hustling about, there might be treats in it for them. They are well fed. They could be Roman street cats.

Love - Wine Appreciation's Secret Sauce

Perusing the sites where wine writer’s articles are posted and listed, I’ve come to the realization that many of these folks haven’t stepped into a wine shop recently and talked to the actual folks who buy those wines. The disconnect between the sages of the screen and the rank and file, the “little people” who actually complete the cycle as end-users, is significant. Maybe it’s part of the mid-year slump, but to hear it from the overlords of the wine-writing class, the sky has fallen. The scribes on Mt. Olympus don’t appear to be underserved while they constantly harp upon the end of the golden age of wine, what with their endless bloviating on subjects near and dear to them. No surprise wine blogs, podcasts and Substack’s are inconsequential in 2025. “Abba, shpakho - dileitin imon tiel tein.”

“Well, shut my mouth!”

Lately, when I’m out in the world, I keep getting this sense that I had when I was a youngster. Namely, to stop talking and let the adults talk.

I was in my Italian store the other day, straightening up the shelf talkers. A young man was in there and he was looking intently at wines. He’d just passed his WSET level 2. He was so proud he told me three times. Bless his heart! His fiancé (which he told me several times and emphasized w/one “e”)  he reported, was encouraging and also proud of him. “Follow your passion!”  

The Stages of a (Wine’s) Life

Rummaging around my wine closet recently, I realized it was turning into a vinous elder hostel. 25% of the wines were 25 years or older, with the oldest one approaching 89 in the fall. With that, I took a stool and sat down and had a little chat with some of the golden agers. I know, it’s a discarded practice these days to sit at the feet of the ancients and glean for any wit and wisdom. But it was a long, hot summer day outside, and the cool dark room of the wine closet was a refreshing change from the tumult of the external world, these days filled with so much hair-trigger melodrama. I figured I had nothing to lose. Boy, was I in for a jolt.