One of the reasons that Tracie P, Georgia P, and I were so geeked to get to Melfi (Basilicata) on our recent trip to Italy and to visit Vulture where Aglianico del Vulture is made is that I have Aglianico del Vulture on my mind.

This week at Sotto in Los Angeles (where I curate the wine list together with my bro Rory Harrington), we’ll be launching our Fall 2012 list, including — what I hope will be — the largest selection of Aglianico del Vulture in the U.S.

That’s Mt. Vulture in the photo above, btw.

Another reason I was excited to get to Melfi and Vulture was that I was looking forward to seeing my dear, dear friend Filena Ruppi (in the photo above, left, with Tracie P and Georgia P).

Filena and her husband Donato d’Angelo make some of my favorite Aglianico del Vulture and Donato is considered by many to be the “father of Aglianico del Vulture.”

(BTW, if you’re having trouble pronouncing Aglianico del Vulture, click here to hear my good friend and Aglianico del Vulture producer Sara Carbone say it for my camera.)

I’m very proud that we will be featuring Filena and Donato’s wine on our new list. They’ve had some trademark problems lately (a tragedy, really) and I’ll address what happened in a future post. But in the meantime, I’m thrilled to be able to share the wine with our guests at Sotto (and I’m thrilled to get to drink it myself). It’s fantastic…

That’s the Castello di Melfi, above.

I’ll be at the restaurant on Wednesday and Thursday nights this week. If you’re in town, please stop by and I’ll pour you some Aglianico del Vulture and tell you about our visit. Sara Carbone’s wine isn’t in yet but it should be in time for my visit in November when I’ll also be hosting a dinner with Frank Cornelissen and Lou Amdur.