A glass of wine is good enough to make new friends.

Bring the glasses closer, look into each other’s eyes, enjoy stories of life and passion. These are the little and magical rituals that I love to share. Because behind every glass of wine there is a face to look at and an emotion to share. A happy event, a success, a dream come true, a new friendship.

I was walking through the streets of Testaccio in search of the right place to have a drink, when I stopped in front of Volpetti, the historical shop of high gastronomy located in Via Marmorata. This is where I met Claudio Bisi, an important italian wine maker who was inviting people in to experience the taste of his wine. 

His gaze and smile were enough to convince me to get in the shop and try.

Faithfull guardian of his homeland.

The story of Claudio and his winery immediately conquered me, because it was linked to its origins, to a world made up of simple traditions and to the courage of his father Luigi who decided to cultivate a dream and make it come true with all his strength.

 He was talking about it with a lot of pride and excitement:

I come from a farming family from Oltrepò Pavese, our only wealth has always been the land of which we are the custodians. The commitment of my farm is to love it, cultivate it and take care of it in order to be able to donate it to our children and future generations .

The result of a genuine family culture, but at the same time refined, is the Calonga 2017: a pinot noir with an intense, velvety and sensual taste, which I had the pleasure of tasting slowly, savoring the memories of a discreet man with a generous heart, proud of his land and his work.

Who have a good cellar at home, don’t go to the tavern for wine.

The tasting evening at Volpetti’s would certainly have pleased my brother Marco, who is a wine expert. He looks at the bottle labels as if they were LP covers and drinks the wine as if it were the elixir of youth! Marco is certainly the ideal drinking companion: affectionate, generous and enjoyable.

I remember when he spent a week in Rome at my parents’ house, “generously” bringing several bottles of excellent vintage Tignanello to the table every evening. We drank it as if it were table wine. Only when I returned sober did I realize that it was my collection of wines that I had jealously guarded in the cellar of my parents house.

Good wine, makes good cheers. 

Wine has always marked the memories of my family and my youth. My Aunt Laura Revedin Malaspina produced it in Tuscany, in the hills around Barberino Val d’Elsa and in the Marche region where we spent our summer holidays.

One evening, after watching Michael Cimino’s film “The Deer Hunter”, my brothers and I decided to pass the time in an alternative way, playing Russian roulette in our Marche wine cellars under the barrels, with toy guns and ammunition. Each time you were “shot”, you were “forced” to drink a glass of wine in one go. Obviously the game lasted a long time and ended with a great hangover headache for all of us, but lots of laughs to remember!

This weekend let’s have a drink together.

There are many factors that make the quality of a wine. If you have any doubts about the product to buy, I recommend that you download the Vivino App which I often use when I need more information on the characteristics of a particular wine and to know the opinion of those who have already tried it.

If you want to share your tasting experiences with me, I invite you to take a tour on my Instagram and Facebook channels, where I will publish photos of my travels in Italian taste.

Lands where the best wine in the world comes from, and I would like to exchange impressions and advice on the wines I have tried with you.

Cheers, it’s FRAday!