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.