One of the things that strikes you when you visit the Masciarelli winery is the undeniable presence of its visionary founder Gianni Masciarelli, who died unexpectedly and prematurely in the summer of 2008.

I visited the property for a second time last month with a dream team of wine professionals and I’m sure they would all agree that it was as if you could feel his physical presence. In some cases, there are artifacts that you discover as you tour the winery. One is his “thinking room,” a wonderful studio — a den, as we used to say in the 1970s — where he could retire to rest and reflect.

There are many such artifacts and I leave it to you to find them when you visit.

But one that really stuck with me was the sign above, posted on a wall in connecting two parts of the facility:

The quest for quality is not a single action that you remember to do just once a week or once a month… It is a constant thought with which you wake up in the morning and you go to bed at night.

Gianni Masciarelli

As we gear up for fall and the work and travel it will bring, I can’t think of a better maxim to tuck under my pillow every night, an aphorism to read every day when I get out of bed.

I’ve written about the wines here before. They are astounding. The Villa Gemma white is one of my best wines tasted from this year. Seek them out, taste, drink, and pair them. They are delicious but they will also give you a glimpse into the heart, soul, sweat, blood, and tears that made this winery so great.

Gianni’s daughter Miriam recounted the story of a university professor who told Gianni, the child of a proletariat family, that he would never amount to much. He dropped out of college that same day, she said, and never looked back. Perhaps it was then that he adopted his adage: the quest for quality is not a single action.

Miriam, thank you again, for the wonderful anecdotes, the tour, the wines, and a wonderful dinner hosted at your family’s Castello di Semivicoli.

And thank you to the consortium of Abruzzo growers, who have allowed me to join them in their own quest for excellence by having me contirbute to their mission.