Paolo Cantele (above, right) is one of my best friends in the wine business in the world.

I’ll never forget the first time we met more than 10 years ago in Texas. I asked him if he liked the writings of Pier Paolo Pasolini. He had me at “yes, I love Pasolini!” and our bromance was born.

I’m super psyched for our Epic Road Trip the week after next when we’ll be driving (and pouring) from Houston to Boulder over the course of five days (we decided to drive because both love road trips and are geeked to see northern Texas, Oklahoma, and more of Colorado).

If you’ve never heard the song that I wrote and recorded about and for Paolo, “Smooth” (from the Parzen Family Singers’ 2016 album “I Believe in You and Me”) check it out here.

Please come out and taste and hang with us in the following cities on the following dates. I’m especially psyched to visit Tulsa for the first time. Rolling Stone is saying that it could be the “next Austin” and the people I’ve connected with there are super cool. This is going to be a lot fun… please join us!

Vinology (Houston)
Tuesday, February 18
6:30 p.m.

Paolo and I will be taking over the bar for a few hours, pouring his family’s wines and schmoozing. Houston folks: hit me up!

Undisclosed Location (Dallas)
Wednesday, February 19
dusk

This wine dinner is so sold-out that the owner made me promise not to post anything about it. Let me know if you want to attend and I’ll see what I can do to get you in. And I’m sure that Paolo and will be hosting an afterparty somewhere so let me know if you want to join.

Vintage Wine Bar (Tulsa)
Thursday, February 20
5:30 p.m.

Paolo’s wines aren’t in the state yet so we’re just going to buy a couple of bottles and share with whomever wants to come out and hang. I’m super psyched about going to Tulsa, a city I’ve been dying to visit. And I’ve loved connecting with the folks at Vintage Wine Bar.

Boulder Wine Merchant (Boulder, obviously)
Saturday, February 22
5:30 p.m.

Paolo and I will be doing an in-store. I do a lot of work with Boulder Wine Merchant because I’m the official blogger for the Boulder Burgundy Festival that they organize. Such great, lovely people. Over the years, I’ve become friends with a lot of their clients. It’s always a fun time. We’ll be pouring four wines.

Here are the lyrics of the song I wrote and sang for him (and laid a bad-ass guitar solo on, if I do say so myself!).

Smooth (oh Paolo)

He’s got the crib
He’s got the clothes
He’s got the ride
And everyone knows

He’s got the look
He even wrote a book
Doesn’t have the hair
But the girls don’t seem to care

Smooth…
Oh Paolo
Some say he’s a gigolo

He’s got the wine
And he’s got the time
When the ladies are looking so fine

Likes heavy guitars
Likes hanging in bars
He’s even friends with a dude who’s named the Jar

You know he’s moving in the right direction
Gonna get some California sun
You know he’s making all the right connections
He’s America’s newest son
He’s gonna get the rock ‘n’ roll injection
And he’s gonna have himself some fun
He’s a son of a gun

Smooth…
Oh Paolo
Some say he’s a gigolo