Thirsty: The Winederlust Is Real In Europe

I’m just back from Hong Kong where I hosted a wine tasting at a humungous outdoor fair called Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival. It was my first trip to Asia, ever, and I was embarrassed to admit to anyone who asked that it took me nearly six decades to get there. For context, I travel constantly for work, which means mostly to winemaking countries throughout Europe, as well as up and down our West Coast, with occasional detours north and east of New York City, and, surprisingly, Virginia, where they’re making some excellent wines, too. China, however, is the proverbial elephant in the room thanks to its quickly growing wine industry.

My seminar was titled “Exploring Wine: Old World vs. New World,” meant to showcase wines from traditional European (Old World) standards such as Burgundy and Bordeaux alongside relatively newer winemaking regions including California, South Africa and, despite its age, China. It was fascinating to pour a Chinese Chardonnay alongside a classic Chablis, the former—Tiansai ‘Skyline of Gobi’ Reserve Chardonnay, Xinjiang, China 2023—from a region in China’s northwest that’s larger than both California and Texas combined(!), and the latter—La Chablisienne ‘Côte de Lechet’ Chablis Premier Cru 2021—from a small region in France’s Burgundy region that’s less than a third of the size of the Napa Valley. I wasn’t surprised, however, that the audience was pretty evenly split on which they preferred. 

But I digress.

Throughout the week I spent there, I kept getting texts and queries via social media asking about my next wine tour of China. My reply, for now, is I have no idea, but I did think about it while I was there, especially because I’m getting requests for—and planning more—wine-centric trips. My first one was back in 2006 when Gary Portuesi and his husband Salvatore Rizzo, who co-own DeGustibus Cooking School at Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan, attended one of my seminars at the legendary FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, and asked me if I’d be interested in collaborating on a wine and food tour of Sicily (where Gary has a home). This was Gary’s idea, as he was transitioning out of a role at American Express where he led the Loyalty and Partnership divisions and was dreaming about starting a travel agency that focused on then-sleepy Sicily (long before The White Lotus spoiled it for the rest of us). We’ve since hosted more than a dozen tours of Sicily together, and this year, for the first time, took a group to northeastern Spain to taste our way from Barcelona to Priorat to Rioja and San Sebastían. I’m not surprised at all that Gary had to change his company’s name from Authentic Sicily to Authentic Explorations, as his enterprise has expanded throughout Europe. What’s their secret to success? Gary and I often laugh about a much-used Amex phrase, ‘Surprise and Delight,’ because his team really does overdeliver on surprises throughout the journey, whether it’s getting access to a private villa where we’re hosted by a Sicilian contessa, or hosting dinner at a long table running the length of the center aisle of an ancient church. Gary’s business partner Marco Palermo says that in addition to transmitting and fostering a sense of community, a big factor that’s often overlooked is the tedium of getting around. “We ensure that logistics—which are often underestimated in the industry—are always seamless and stress free.” 

This year I also led a wine tour of northern Italy’s Piemonte region for the first time, this one with Chef Jeff Michaud who, with his wife Claudia, run the chef-centric tour company La Via Gaia. To be honest, I wasn’t looking to expand beyond my work with Authentic Explorations, but when Jeff called to ask me to host a trip, I jumped at the opportunity. In the early 2000s, Jeff lived and worked in the northern Italian town of Bergamo, where he fell in love with Claudia, a local, got married, and returned to the US in 2006 to open Osteria, a Northern Italian restaurant in Philadelphia. It didn’t take long for the James Beard Foundation to Award him “Best Chef Mid Atlantic” in 2010. Operating as La Via Gaia, they began taking client groups to Italy once a year, but during the pandemic they rightly assumed that there would be huge demand for travel when the world reopened. Now they’re hosting nearly a dozen small group trips a year. What’s their secret? La Via Gaia was born from their desire to connect friends and family with their friends and family in Italy. “Each journey is designed around meaningful interactions with artisans and chefs in regions we know intimately,” says Claudia, describing their off-the-beaten-path experiences, often with behind-the-scenes access to acclaimed wine and cheese makers, food artisans, and Michelin-starred chefs. Oh, did I mention we ride around on Vespas and take hot air balloons over the vineyards?  

I bet you’re thinking, when are you going to lead a tour of the Hudson Valley? I’m thinking about that, too. Stay tuned.