Tuscany features some of the finest and most interesting wines in the world with a fascinating history beginning long before the Romans. We'll travel from the north to the south and along the coast on a taste and learn journey from the main roads and backroads of Italy's best (but sometimes little known) regions. This taste-and-learn seminar will feature several small production wines from our recent travels in Tuscany that are not commercially imported into the U.S. due to such limited production! Featured regions include Carmignano, Chianti Classico, Bolgheri, Brunello di Montalcino, Maremma and Scansano.

Join us for this deep dive into Cabernet Franc - parent of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot -- and "wing man" for both in Bordeaux. Today Cabernet Franc is an international darling, especially in Italy, Chile and the United States as a single varietal and anchor in classic and eclectic blends. In this taste and learn seminar, we'll explore Cabernet Franc's origins, the regions it calls home and taste first tier examples from around the globe.

There are over 3,000 different commercial grape varieties but most of us are only exposed to maybe a dozen or two. That leaves a *lot* of room for discovery. In my recent travels and searches in the catacombs of my wholesalers' portfolios, I've encountered a slew of grapes I've never heard of before (so it's pretty likely neither have you) and got curious and ordered them just to check them out and to my surprise and delight, most of them are really fun and really good!

In this 90 minute taste and learn we'll dig into some obscure grapes that are primarily regional darlings, mostly from Italy and Eastern Europe (where they have *lots* of regional grapes) and discuss the backgrounds of each of them and the wines they make. These are all straight ahead wines, nothing intentionally oxidized, naturally carbonated or otherwise "out there" -- just surprisingly good wines that would be fun to discover and share with (or stump) your wine loving friends.

Rioja has just celebrated their 100th year as an appellation in 2025. The year long festivities showcased the broad spectrum of wines and techniques that define not only Rioja's history, but also its present and future!

While still recognized for their incredible aged wines based primarily (but not exclusively) on Tempranillo, new approaches are emerging from large barrel influences and concrete vat aging to fresh takes on "blending" grapes that make these background singers the stars of the show.