At the first tasting on the first day of our dream team trip to Abruzzo earlier this month, leading U.S. wine educator James Tidwell asked me to share my impressions of the essence of Montepulciano, the grape variety.

The first thing that popped in my mind was color. Montepulciano is a fascinating grape, including its versatility and the breadth of wines it can produce. But it all starts with color.

James and our team will surely agree that there is no wine that the Abruzzese hold more dear than Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo — a wine defined by its color. Nearly every producer we tasted with told us that Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is “our” wine, the wine of the farmer, the wine of the young and old, the wine of the ruling class, the wine of the proletariat, the wine that pairs best with their “mountains meet the sea” gastronomy, the wine that genuinely reflects the hues of the Abruzzese people.

There are a number of methods used to give Cerasuolo its signature cherry color (cerasuolo means “cherry” in archaic Italian). But most simply press their richly colored Montepulciano and macerate it briefly or not at all. The wine in the photo above, by one of my favorites, Contesa, is indicative of what a classic Cerasuolo looks like.

In recent years, certain producers have found ways to lighten the color in an effort get on the “Provençe” bandwagon. Frequently, the Abruzzo growers consortium has sent me pale, pink-hued wines that are labeled as “Cerasuolo” for my seminars and tastings.

But that’s all about to change: consortium partners have now agreed on a protocol that will require a chromatic rating between six and 10 on a 10-point scale. In other words, in order to be labeled as such, Cerasuolo will have to have a depth of color similar to that in the photo.

The news was communicated to me a voce by consortium president Alessandro Nicodemi. It’s not clear to me what method will be used to evaluate color. I’ll follow up on that here.

When we tasted with Pierpaolo Pasetti of Contesa, he echoed what nearly every producer told us: they agree wholeheartedly with the new rules for chromaticity. Contesa btw is one of the region’s most dynamic wineries, producers of some of my favorite wines. And the young Pierpaolo is a leading voice of his generation.

What can I say? I fell in love with Vasto on this last trip to Abruzzo. I hadn’t spent much time in this commune where the beaches are still undiscovered by foreign tourists and where the wild vegetation and biodiversity are as exciting as are the people who grow and make wine not far from the Molise border.

Nicola Altieri’s wines at Fontefico are fantastic. Organically farmed, spontaneously fermented, and 100 percent delicious and food friendly. The creative, youthful packaging is also consumer-friendly and just downright fun.

After our tasting a few weeks ago, I scratched my head wondering aloud why progressive U.S. importers are not bending over backward to get these wines to north America. I loved them.

But I also loved the whole vibe of their estate, where they have rooms for visitors (we didn’t stay) and an extraordinary “zero kilometer” restaurant where Nicola’s mom cooks up a storm. That’s peperoncino over white flower chicory — yes, the rare white flower chicory! — and crunchy maize.

And man, the flavor of the tomato sauce and the pasta itself… wow… this dish, so simple, floored me. I’m sorry I don’t have any photos of the wines. They are worth seeking out.

Earlier in the day, we had tasted at Jasci e Marchesani, another hit in my book.

The Jasci family is a pioneer of organic farming in Abruzzo. Early on, before the term “organic” even existed as we know it today, they had recognized the potential harm of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides.

Abruzzo is arid and well-ventilated thanks to the maritime influence, ideal for organic farming. The Jasci showed their neighbors a path forward at a time when chemical-driven farming was encouraged among small growers like them.

I really loved their two Cerasuolo but the Trebbiano was another favorite of mine, one of the estate’s flagships. Shout out to our tasting guide Luana and her command of English (made my job easy!). You should have seen the locals lining up to buy their monthly supply. This place was another wonderful discovery for me.

And dulcis in fundo, that’s the view from the Hotel Villa Maria in Francavilla where we stayed during our trip. And below you’ll find a YouTube for the famous song, “T’aspetto a Vasto” (“I’ll wait for you in Vasto”), including shots of the gorgeous pristine beaches.

One of the most exciting and original wines our dream team tasted while on tour in Abruzzo earlier this month was the In Petra Trebbiano d’Abruzzo by grower and winemaker Franco D’Eusanio.

I had visited the famous Roman-era stone vinification vats in the village of Pietranico, high up in the heart of Casauria, one of the Pescara river valley’s top subzones. And that experience made it all the more exciting to taste a Trebbiano that had been vinified in stone vats similar to the historic ones.

Everyone in our group agreed that Franco’s In Petra Trebbiano was superb (“in petra” is Latin for “in stone”): rich gold in color from limited skin contact and slightly oxidative, this wine was all mineral and dried stone fruit, one of the most expressive examples of Trebbiano we tasted all week.

It was fascinating to hear Franco describe the winemaking process and how the stone acts as a natural temperature control.

So many projects like this end up producing mediocre wines at best or forgettable and even undrinkable wines at worst. It would seem that the romance of history sometimes eclipses quality. But not in this case. The caliber of Franco’s wine made it all the more compelling to taste.

It should surprise anyone: not only is Franco a widely respected winemaker in Abruzzo, he’s also the region’s resident philosopher — or should I say “vinosopher.”

He’s developed a nuanced “sensorial experience” at his Chiusa Grande estate where he invites guests to “feel” wine through color and music. He has devised an elaborate system whereby images, lights, sounds, and the evocation of emotions open the layperson’s mind to a broader and richer understanding of wine and its cultural and human value.

For the average wine lover, Franco’s “sensorial experience” is worth checking out, especially at dusk as the contours of the Gran Sasso in the distance are silhouetted by the setting sun. But even for the expert taster, the trip is worth it for the excellent wines. Our group also loved his pét nats and his Cerasuolo was a favorite of mine.

Stay tuned for more from Abruzzo this week and next.

It was along a drive from Ciampino (just outside of Rome) through the Castelli Romani hills on my way to Latina to visit the site where Cincinnatus chose agriculture over power and inspired one of the founders of the U.S…

During the journey, I stumbled upon a holy grail — or should I say, holy tail — that I had been searching for since a taste more than three decades ago in Rome: the best porchetta sandwich ever.

I’m still not sure what inspired me to stop at a roadside shack — one of among countless others — adorned with a simple sign that reads “porchetta.” If you glared at it closely through the bright sunlight that beat down on the volcanic landscape, you could make out the words “da Rea,” a nod to the owner Salvatore Rea — “Porchetta by Rea” — whom I later learned is a legendary figure in the world of Porchetta di Ariccia, the holy of the holies when it comes to the slow-roasted suckling pig panino, with the meat’s distinctive crispy crust.

I wanted to taste porchetta in its purest form, nestled gently between a halved bun.

After hearing other lunch-goers order their sandwiches dressed with a diversity of pickled vegetables, I felt a slight pang of covetousness. But I justified my spartan choice in the name of science. After all, I need to taste the meat unadulterated in order to assess its true flavor, texture, and quality.

Porchetta, the sandwich shop, has no website that I can find. There are two different Google pages for the venue. I recommend using this one. The reference on the sign to “8.7 kilometers,” I believe, is a now obsolete address system: “8.7 kilometers down Nettunense Road.” The current address is Via Nettunense, 58.

Later that day, I found myself in the heart of Lazio wine country, treading through the volcanic soils that make this part of Italy so famous for grape growing and other agriculture, including the livestock that gives us porchetta.

What did I find?

You’ll have to come to my July 31 “Ancient Rome” dinner at Rossoblu in LA to find out. Here’s the link to register.

I hope to see you there. And in coming weeks, I’ll share notes from my winery visits. What an incredible trip through that part of the country. I highly recommend it and be sure to stop at “Porchetta” in Cecchina, a hamlet of Albano Laziale village, high in the hills above the Italian capital.

Thanks for being here and see you next week.

It was an absolute pleasure to travel to my beloved Abruzzo last week with a wine trip dream team: Alisha Blackwell-Calvert (far left), James Tidwell (second from left), Tiffany Bobbs (far right), and Christy Frank (second from right).

That’s legacy grower and winemaker Giulia Cataldi Madonna (center) standing between me and James. We met with Giulia at her family’s winery outside Ofena village in the Abruzzo mountains not far from L’Aquila on Saturday morning, the last visit of our spectacular trip.

This group came together after I did an Abruzzo seminar last year at TexSom, the annual wine conference founded by James more than a decade ago. He was impressed, he told me, with the caliber of wines in a Pecorino flight that we served to a group of 60 or so TexSom volunteers. Would it be possible to travel to the region together with a group of top sommeliers? he asked me.

Nearly a year later, we made it happen.

James recommended six persons for our team Abruzzo. A few folks couldn’t make it for one reason or another. But the three above were game.

It filled me with pride to sojourn with such a high-level group of sommeliers, each a world-class taster.

I’ve never been on a trip — ever — where each fellow traveler comported themselves with such professionalism, technical ability, and warm humanity. At nearly every visit, growers and winemakers commented to me that they had never experienced such a top-notch group.

And the level of dialog — in both directions — was astounding.

We had some amazing visits, including Valentini. Yes, Valentini!

I have many notes and tales to share. But today, I’d just like to share my deepest thanks with each in our group. This was no mere junket trip. It was a genuine learning experience for everyone involved, including the producers and especially me.

Warm shouts out and thanks also to consortium communications director Davide Acerra and his team member Sabina Rosso for believing in this campaign and for the superb execution.

I love doing what I do for a living but this gig was one of those very special ones. Stay tuned for notes from my trip. Thanks for being here.

That’s a shot by @anniemulligans Times photographer who happens to live in our neighborhood. See her feed for more images. Thanks to everyone who has written to make sure we are okay. We are. Our neighborhood was just east to the worst part of the storm. But we were also hit bad. We haven’t had power for two days. I’m in Italy working but Tracie and the girls are safe and just minimal damages at our house/on our street. Now it’s time to help those who were less fortunate. Thanks to everyone who checked in. Thank G-d the girls, Tra, and the dogs are fine. I can’t wait to get back but I wouldn’t be able to fly back today anyway because the airports are closed. I’ll be back soon.

When I was 25, if you would have told me that my job would require me to travel to Italy nearly every other month and sometimes even more frequently, I would have told you that it would be a dream come true.

It is a dream come true. But it’s also increasingly hard to be away from Tracie and the girls, especially as the girls are doing more and more competitive music and they will soon become teenagers. And the dogs become more and fretful when they see me pull out my roller board.

I spent a month in Italy in May and June including 11 days the girls and Tracie spent with me. But now it’s time to say goodbye again.

I’m heading to Abruzzo next week where I’ll be leading a stellar group of sommeliers through the wine country. We have some extraordinary visits ahead of us, including one of Abruzzo’s holy grails. Stay tuned.

But first I travel to Irpinia for some visits and then on to Rome where I have some really cool visits lined up as well.

I’m looking forward to Roman wine country because I’ll be leading a guided pairing of wines for Chef Steve Samson’s ancient Rome dinner at Rossoblu on Wednesday, July 31 in Los Angeles.

Here’s the link to register. The menu is very reasonably priced and the wine pairing (including generous pours) is priced aggressively so as to make it accessible to all. It’s a great deal and I have some awesome wines lined up.

I can’t wait to share my Roman adventure with guests that night. And added bonus: Tracie and the girls will be there that night as well (not at the wine dinner but at the restaurant).

Wish me luck and wish me speed. See you on the other side and thanks as always for being here, the support and the solidarity. It means the world to me.