Just over the course of the last month, I’ve had the great fortune to interact with a half dozen wine professionals with whom I worked (and/or drank) during the late 1990s and early aughts in New York City.

It was such a magical time to be there, especially as far as the Italian wine and food scene was concerned.

Just think how many Italian restaurants opened between 1998 and 2008 (when the financial crisis took an inestimable toll on the trade). Even following the tragedy of the two towers, New York continued to be a beacon in the global Italian gastronomic renaissance.

Looking back on it all and considering how many of those folks went on to become leaders in our industry, most would agree it was a culinary golden age. And the wines were pretty damn good, too.

One of those wine professionals with whom I came up in the trade was none other than Wayne Young. That’s me and Wayne, above, last month at the Ca’ dei Frati winery in Lugana (photo by my buddy Gianpaolo Giacobbo, Ca’ dei Frati’s media rep and super groovy dude).

Wayne and I have been tight friends since that time and we’ve also worked on some great projects together. At the tail end of that decade, we organized two epic blogger trips to Friuli. And when I say epic…

I was so stoked when he asked me to join him on his podcast a few weeks ago. I really can’t stand the sound of my own voice (as hard as that is to believe). But I can’t recommend his Friuli-focused Taverna podcast to you enough.

Check it out here and thanks for listening.