Ten years ago, Julia and I enjoyed a honeymoon in France and Italy. We drove through the Alps from Lyon to Cuneo and stayed in a tiny hilltop commune, called Bene Vagienna, where we were bit by miniscule, striped mosquitos while we drank Barolo Chinato and watched the local elders play bocce after sunset, mixed doubles under the lights on the public courts.

From Piedmont, we traveled to an agriturismo in Emilia-Romagna, where we were welcomed by the young and vivacious Valentina, who was using government subsidies to revive a small organic farm in Gorzano. One morning, we heard shouting in the field near our room and inquired about the noise. Valentina explained that her father was a retired public health bureaucrat who was so excited to be replanting the vineyard, so happy to be working outdoors with his hands, that the shirtless sixty-year-old let loose a howling ‘YEAHHHH!’ as he completed each row.

After a week of day trips to Modena and Bologna, we bought a half wheel of Pecorino from Valentina’s neighbor and drove south to the picturesque seaside villages of Liguria: the Cinque Terre, Lerici, and Tellaro, where stone steps, alleyways and hobbit homes hug the rugged coastal cliffs. The early mornings there were especially magical, as the still and quiet darkness gave way to the soft pink light of dawn, a rooster crowed once, twice, three times, and the wind off the water would pick up, loudly flapping colorful lines of hanging laundry. One morning, as I lay in bed, awoken by indigestion and mosquito bites, and with that first light, several swallows flew in through our French doors, and swiftly and silently circled the room before exiting through various windows.

Come join us for a wine tour of Italy this weekend - we’ll be pouring flights of new Italian wines both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. 

But first…TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights: French Reds or California Whites $12 from 4-8pm

SATURDAY: Northern Italian Tasting Flights – Garganega from the Veneto, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Tuscan Morellino, and Piedmontese Barbaresco - $15 from 2-5pm

SUNDAY: Specifically Sicilian Tasting Flights – Grillo, Frappato & Nero d’Avola - $15 from 3-6pm