I n memory of Luigi Pira and Dino Illuminati I was in the room next to my wine closet when I thought I heard the murmur of low voices. Th...

“All things must pass, none of life's strings can last.” – George Harrison F orwarding to the present day, where we must end this st...

“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” ― Benjamin Franklin I could see the horizon approaching more rapidly...

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." – Confucius M y boss, Brad, convinced the powers that be to let m...

“Ah, how the seeds of cockiness blossom when soiled in ignorance.”― Steve Alten, The Loch B ack from a working trip to Italy, I invited Se...

“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” -   Wayne Dyer F or whatever reasons Segundo S...

This is a tale about a most miserable wine steward W hen Primo Sguattera first saw his son, Segundo, in the hospital, he couldn’t recogniz...

[Editor's note: this letter was unsigned inside an envelope on the desk of the empty home. It could be the letter was written by the own...

D uring this down time, I’ve had the opportunity to go through boxes and papers, organizing my office. One of the packets I ran across wer...

“Italian investment of time and resources in importing wine to China will ultimately turn out to be a big mistake. The Chinese will eventua...

[ Imagine a scenario where Italian wine exporters, winemakers and their agents make their twice (or thrice) yearly pilgrimage to China in s...

Pt. VII All we knew was that they were grown above in the vineyards in their native state. And they were made in a natural way. Not in the...

Pt. VI "This was my revolution. Italian wine, in 1957, was not so delicious. It had alcohol, lots of dried earth flavor, but it was l...

Pt. V Who could we get here to help us, help this amazing woman who was unknown, outside of Tuscany and Florence, but, in my mind, was one...

Pt. IV “Diana pulled out a small bottle, a dessert wine. It was amber and smelled of cloves and honey and celery. Odd creature, but quite ...

Pt. III “So, my journey took me to the field and through the vines right in front of the grapes. And there they were, everyone a story, al...

Pt. II “What this person is asking, is what are we doing here? Have we come to help?” my friend translated. We were tired, we were thirst...

Pt. I...in loving memory of Al Pasquino I was living in Florence for a brief time. And at the macrobiotic mensa a friend had made mentio...

O h, how we’ve aggrandized wine to a beatific eminence. It is the alpha, the omega. It is sexy. It is alluring. It is dangerous. And it’s ...

U ncle Emilio’s wife, Serafina, sent Anne Marie a note. “Uncle Emilio isn’t doing so well. After his last fall in the vineyard, he just ha...