Looking back on the years since the advent of the enoblogosphere in the second half of the 2000s, it’s clear now — at least to me — that the collective aversion to international grape varieties grown on Italian soil was misguided and even wrong-headed at times.

Italians are growing international grape varieties to appeal to the U.S. market and U.S. wine critics, the thinking went at the time. They were doing so at the expense of native grape varieties. As a result, they were abandoning tradition.

Today, it’s clear that the growers of the so-called Super Tuscans were partly trying to find new ways to be relevant in a changing market. In retrospect, we owe them a thanks for driving renewed interest in Italian wine when the category was struggling in North America. Those efforts opened many paths for future Italian growers. They were also trying to level the playing field by saying, hey, we can make world-class wines like the ones you already love!

There was another element that a lot of us — me included — overlooked: for many Italian growers, Cabernet Sauvignon et alia were part of a longstanding tradition that stretched back decades and even centuries before the Italian wine renaissance that took shape in the late 1990s.

One of those wines was San Leonardo from Trentino.

A generous colleague of mine recently shipped me a sample bottle of the 2019 (the current release) and we served it on the occasion of one of my Houston cousins’ birthdays. He’s a Cabernet Sauvignon lover.

The wine opened with a burst of vibrant fruit on the nose and palate. But as the wine aerated, the red stone and red berry flavors were swiftly balanced by earthiness and classic goudron. The oak was present but beautifully integrated — at just five years out — in this elegant wine. And from first sip to last, it retained a wonderful freshness that made it food-friendly and moreish.

Nearly 20 years after I started my blog, it turns out that I’m an Italian Cabernet Sauvignon lover after all.

It’s an experience shared by more than one member of the wine trade. You roll up to a classic Floridian strip mall and can’t help but wonder out loud, how is that a place with such an unusual name, located in such an anonymous row of classic “strip mall” businesses, could be so renowned for its food and beverage program?

Last week, an itinerant wine blogger finally had the chance to dine at Pasta and… in Margate (a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale) and they are here to report that this restaurant is nothing short of extraordinary.

The other thing that was remarkable about an otherwise humdrum Wednesday evening at Pasta and… was that it was PACKED.

As fine dining restaurants across the country struggle to make their bottle line these days, they might want to take a look at how Pasta and… has continued to fill its dining room night after night thanks to a fantastic authentic Piedmont-focused menu and a stellar wine list. When so many U.S. restaurateurs are downsizing, Pasta and… actually added a new dining room, private dining space, and bar!

I genuinely loved everything about this restaurant, from the way our server greeted us and had solid knowledge of the wine list to the warm, inviting atmosphere at every turn of the meal. The food was delicious. The wine list was a Piedmont-lover’s dream but there were also ample Tuscan selections and a healthy representation of pan-Italian.

Above, from top: risotto with speck and Fontina; angolotti al plin; and ravioli stuffed with porcini and topped with black truffle. The ravioli were the showstoppers of the evening but everything was fantastic.

It’s a bit of a drive from Miami and traffic can be challenging. But man, it’s well worth the journey. I can’t wait to get back.

Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a wine blogger coming down along the road…

Last week found me in Miami at one of my happiest of places.

Vinya in Coral Gables (there is another location in Key Biscayne) is a wine bar, restaurant, and retailer. And imho, it is also the apotheosis of what wine-focused hospitality should be.

Not only does owner and founder Allegra Angelo offer a roadmap to enogastronomic pleasure (and the Latin spice in her menus takes that delight over the top). But she also serves up a model for how to run a successful food and wine business.

She does that in part by using every avenue available to her: she’s a triple-threat when it comes to on-premise, off-premise, and in-house events and education.

But even more impactful is the fun vibe she creates. She takes wine seriously (and her wine knowledge is crazy good) but she keeps it approachable and accessible through user-friendly wine education and pricing.

Every time we connect I tell her the same thing: she should tour the country teaching people how to move boxes in the ever-changing dialectic of wine in the U.S.

And every time I visit one of her locations, it seems that my Miami friends group continues to grow. If you ask me, that’s the ultimate sign of a great food and wine destination: when you walk out with more friends than you had when you walked in.

I highly recommend it.

My food and wine communications grad students at the Slow Food University in Piedmont will surely remember sommelier and activist Tahiirah Habibi (above, in a photo she shared with me yesterday; disclosure, she is a good friend of our family).

During my last four or so years of teaching there, we would watch her Instagram reel where she laid bare some of the too-often-left-unspoken transgressions of the wine industry. It was one of the examples of “activism in wine communications” we discussed in class.

It was always one of our most compelling sessions, with many students (and the instructor) welling up with tears. A lively dialog was guaranteed to follow. Sometimes, just voicing an unright can lead to changes of mind.

Tahiirah has developed a new online seminar she calls “Secure Wine.”

With her video sessions, she seeks to alleviate the “intimidation” that can come with “so many choices, so much jargon.”

It’s meant to be fun, informative, convivial, ecumenical, and approachable.

But it also addresses an underlying issue that too many in the wine trade continue to ignore. It’s what Eric Asimov has called “wine anxiety”: wine in our country sadly remains a dividing line between those “in the know” and those “on the outside.”

One of the things that has always struck me about that great misunderstanding otherwise known as the Atlantic Ocean is that wine in Europe has always retained its demotic nature while here in the U.S. it stands apart from other food and beverage in its cultish and often exclusionary status.

I love the way that Tahiirah has inverted the conversation: she’s giving her students the tools to feel the confidence we all should feel — we all deserve — when it comes to talking about and socializing over wine.

When I saw that she had launched this wonderful program, I couldn’t help but think that it would make for a great holiday gift. I highly recommend it to you.

Here’s the link to sign up.

SO SORRY ABOUT THIS BUT WE HAD TO CANCEL THIS EVENT BECAUSE OF AN EMERGENCY REQUEST BY THE @iacctexas. THEY HAVE A GOVERNMENT DELEGATION COMING TO HOUSTON UNEXPECTEDLY AND THEY NEED ME THAT NIGHT.

OUR CONCERT SUNDAY IS CONFIRMED. SEE DETAILS BELOW. THANK YOU.

Back when Piedmont growers first began shipping Pelaverga to the U.S. in the late 1990s, they were eager to let us Yanks know that many believe the grape variety to have aphrodisiacal properties.

Locally, it is sometimes referred by its nickname “Basadonne,” or “Lady Kisser,” they told us.

But some, digging deeper, would also tell us that the name “Pelaverga” can be translated as “branch peeler” or “branch scraper.” The word pelare means to skin or to peel.

Romance language speakers familiar Latin know that the word verga means branch. In modern-day neo-Latin languages like Spanish and (archaic) Italian, it can also be used to denote the male… well… “member.”

I’ll be pouring a wonderful Pelaverga at my last Houston wine dinner of the year at Davanti on Monday, December 9. Please email me if you’d like to join me (the spots are already limited). We’ll also be pouring some other favorite Piedmont wines, including the Veglio Barolo.

Here’s the menu, below, and YES, we are doing white truffles! Chef Roberto already ordered them. This is a great value for the wines and menu. I hope you will join us. Please email me to reserve (limited space).

And if you’re free on Sunday, December 8, I will be playing three sets with Katie White on vocals at Vinsanto starting at 4. NO COVER.

Last gig was SO packed. Come early to grab your spot!

These shows are super fun and a TON of the wine crew comes out for these. Our band is sounding the best it ever has. Please join us.

Aperitivo
Focaccia with fresh toma cheese and guanciale
Giovanni Almondo 2023 Roero Arneis Bricco delle Ciliegie

Antipasto
Cisrà, a chickpea and potato soup with lamb meatballs
Cantina Massara 2022 Verduno Pelaverga

Primo Piatto
Risotto with Fontina cheese and white Alba truffles
Mauro Veglio 2022 Barbera d’Alba

Secondo Piatto
Braised beef with chanterelles
Mauro Veglio 2020 Barolo

$140 per person
wine, tax & gratuity included

Image via TorinoDoc.com.

Above: that’s me performing with Nous Non Plus in East Germany in 2008 when our band was still actively recording and touring. That was the night that Dany Le Rouge danced to our music (no joke). It was also the night I blew a virtual kiss to a woman I had just started to date. Her name was Tracie B.

Music will always be part of my life and my family’s life. But I’ll never get to relive the precious years when my band had a top-10 college radio album (Nous Non Plus “Self Titled,” Aeronaut 2005). I’m so glad that Tracie got to see us play in Paris, New York, and Los Angeles before we were married. We actually got engaged after a rocking show at Spaceland in LA — way back when!

Today our music lives on through streaming (Apple, Spotify, etc.) and the many films and TV shows our music has appeared in. That means so much to me.

I still put out a record every year. And this year, the girls played strings on a handful of tracks on the album. That’s been such a rewarding experience for me. They put on their headphones and play like real pros!

Few things give me greater pleasure than knowing that my friends enjoy my music. So, once again, I’m sharing it here in the hope that it will provide some joy over the holiday weekend.

Click here to stream my new album, “Let the Party Begin” (Terrible Kids Music 2024).

And Houston folks: please join me for two sets of 80s covers with my current band featuring Katie White at Vinsanto, Sunday, December 8, 4-6pm; and join me for my last wine dinner of the year at Davanti with Chef Roberto Crescini on Monday, December 9, 7pm.

Thanks for all your support in 2024! Happy Thanksgiving and happy listening! Play it loud!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

We hope you enjoy the Parzen Family Singers’ latest Christmas song (below), featuring Georgia on violin and Lila Jane on cello.

It’s a track from my new album “Let the Party Begin” (please check it out on BandCamp!).

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving!

We’ll see you next week. Have a great holiday!

Man, I’ve been having a blast working the market this week in New York with my old friend Dino and his son Adam.

Bumping around Manhattan and Brooklyn and checking in with sommeliers and buyers across the city, I couldn’t help but wonder out loud, who the hell said that wine was dead?

A legion of young wine professionals would beg to differ!

Last night, we were invited to the soft opening to Chef Markus Glocker’s new wine bar Libera in the basement of the Ace hotel, with his much-feted Koloman brimming with happy diners above.

I loved wine director Max Weber’s by-the-glass list and was thrilled to find a bunch of wines, including Italian, that were new to me.

But it was the tinned fish, charcuterie, and cheese cart that stole the show.

Once we were settled and Max took our wine order, the cart service found its way to our table and we ordered a sampling of everything on offer.

We downed old school Champagne by the glass as we slurped up anchovies and sardines followed by pâté.

I don’t think that I’ve had so much fun in a NYC wine bar since I first walked into The Ten Bells.

Chef Markus has elaborate plans for the as-of-yet unfinished artwork above. It will ultimately become a multi-media space.

But it was still awesome to check it out. I felt buzzed before I even had a sip of wine!

With arduously creative, talented people like Chef Markus and Max opening an überhip wine bar in one of the city’s most dynamic hotels, it makes me wonder if there might be a glimmer of hope for all of us punters working the street with a wine bag slung over our weary shoulders.

Bravi Markus and Max! Thank you for a great time. I can’t wait to get back to your place. And thanks for believing in and propagating the human-vinaceous experience.

It’s not every day that a guitar solo can bring me to tears. But that’s what happened the other night in Atlanta after we finished up an epic wine dinner and headed over to one of the city’s mainstay blues and rock clubs, the Northside Tavern.

I had never met the amazing Andrew Black, above, or heard his music. I just happened to walk into the bar where he was playing that night.

During the first set I watched, our group had a great time rocking out to the 80s adult classics and yacht rock he was jamming.

But when he opened his next set, he went straight into the blues. And when I say the blues, I mean that kind that stirs and stews your soul.

An Albert King track was followed by Albert Collins jam, and even though Andrew was rocking a Les Paul custom, I could swear the Ice Man — the Master of the Telecaster — was in the room with us. And me and my eyes were goners.

Andrew and I got to talking before the night was over and he’s the nicest, sweetest guy.

It occurred to me as I drifted off to sleep that evening: a dude from Houston and a dude from Atlanta connected thanks to a musical genre — I would go as far as a saying, a medium — that is uniquely American in origin and spirit and a reflection of our country’s history, culture, and ethos.

The blues are an idiom that you can speak in Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Atlanta, and nearly every corner of the world.

I may not be the American that the incoming government wants me to be. But I’m still an American. And the blues are part of my cultural birthright, just like American jazz, American dance, American literature, American post-modernism, etc.

Our country and our variegated people have given the world so much in terms of the arts. And the world has often loved us back for it.

Thank you, Andrew, for helping me bare my soul and remember why I love to be an American. And thanks, man, for the great music and friendship. It was a wonderful night to rejoice in what is truly great about this country.