Above: dinner last night at Lino Fritto, my new favorite cicchetteria in Venice.

How did I get here?

I awoke this morning at a 5-star resort/spa/hotel on the Island of the Roses, a 20-minute boat ride from Venice.

Am I a character in Fellini’s “8 1/2”? Or am I simply a wine blogger who happened to be in the right place at the right time?

I’m still not sure… What I do know is that the first three days of my friend Adam Japko’s Design and Wine Tour 2016 have been as exhilarating as they have been aesthetically and sensorially fulfilling.

Dinner downstairs at Caffè Quadri. A wonderfully catered reception at the Palazzo Rocca on the Grand Canal. A Sunday morning in one of the most beautiful villages in Italy (and one of my favorites). Lunch at the marvelous Osteria alla Chiesa with one of my favorite winemakers and clients Bele Casel.

And dulcis in fundo, a spectacular cicchettata (above) last night at Lino Fritto at the Venice fish market with my friend Wayne Young pouring wine for our tour group.

Above: and in the midst of it all, I got to have “do bianchi,” two white wines, with my good friend Wayne Young who works with Joe Bastianich here in Italy.

Time away from my family is so rough on me. Tracie P and the girls are always on my mind and in my thoughts and heart.

But I’ve found immense humanity and joy over the last few days in the lovely people with whom I’ve been traveling and the friends — new and old — who have helped me organize our visits so far.

Massimiliano, Marco, Federica, Matteo, Luca, Paola, Bojana, Marisa, Francesco B., Wayne, Renato, Giovanni… I am so blessed by your friendship. Thank you from the bottom of my hear for all your help and solidarity.

The trip has only just begun and there will be so many more people to thank and so many more blog posts to write before we are done.

That’s all I have time to post this morning as I head out for another day of tasting etc.

Now more than ever do the notions of “authenticity,” “natural,” and “artisanal” play a role in cultural hegemony and now more than ever do we need to reflect on their epistemological implications.