It’s become a sort of tradition: my first visit at Vinitaly each year is with my good friend Filena Ruppi (above, right, with her daughter Emiliana). Filena and her husband Donato d’Angelo make one of my favorite expressions of Aglianico del Vulture.

I loved this Franciacorta by Vezzoli, a wine made with a new and perhaps revolutionary approach to classic method vinification (more on that later; very groovy stuff).

Alessandro Morichetti, one of the editors of Italy’s most popular wine blog, Intravino, insisted (rightly) that I taste this superb and extremely hard-to-find expression of Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, Tauma. Stunning, elegant wine. I need this wine.

My clients and good friends Gianni (left) and Paolo Cantele were in top form.

I was blown away by their new Primitivo Fanòi, an IGT from Sava that they do in a lighter and more traditional style. The acidity in this baby is zinging. This is going to be a big wine for the Cantele cousins.

I was thrilled by this Canaiolo Bianco by the Grati family at Villa di Vetrice. They’re currently working on an ambitious survey of Tuscan ampelography and this is one of the fruits of their labor. I was impressed by the acidity and vibrancy of this wine. Only a few thousand bottles made but they plan to make the grape part of their stable of traditional Tuscan wines.

And now on to day 2… wish me luck! I’m going to need it.