Me and Franco down by the schoolyard (outside Vinitaly).

Believe it or not: even though Franco Ziliani (above left) and I launched our collaborative project VinoWire more than a month ago, we had never met in person until the first day of Vinitaly last Thursday.

We have corresponded by email since July of last year and the idea for the project was born late last year. The very same day we shook each other’s hand for the first time, Eric wrote this post about the emerging Brunello controversy and our coverage.

I head out for Slovenia this afternoon and don’t know when I’ll be able to get online again. But I’m looking forward to posting about the many wines I’ve tasted, meals I’ve enjoyed, and interesting people I’ve met at the Italian trade fairs.