Depends on who you ask.  Hint:  don’t ask the Italians.

The people you can ask are John and Pam Mariani, who, in the early 1970s, journeyed to the heart of Tuscany and bought themselves a castle.  A real one, with towers and parapets and all the other stuff a castle is supposed to have, except I don’t remember seeing a moat.  As you exit the autostrada coming into the Montalcino area about 35 miles south of Siena, the ancient fortress rises in the distance to your left, looking, one can imagine, much as it did in the days of the Medicis.

Castello Banfi in Tuscany

John Mariani, Jr., had done quite well as a wine and spirits distributor in Long Island, partially because he and his brother were the first to introduce Lambrusco to the United States.  Under the Reunite label, they sold a ton of the stuff, which gave them the resources to go shopping for vineyards in the Brunello region, and if the property happened to have a castle on it, well, they wouldn’t mind too much.  The incredible success of Reunite convinced John that he knew what kind of wines Americans would actually buy and enjoy.  Remember, this is back when all we knew about Italian wines over here was that the bottles came in cute little baskets and they made great candle holders for our dorm rooms and apartments. 

The balsamic vinegar cellar at Banfi

John and his family had some extraordinarily deep roots in the country.  When his father was nine years old, his mother took him from their home in Connecticut to live in Milan.  They boarded with his aunt, Teodolinda Banfi, who just happened to be director of the household staff of the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, Achille Ratti.

The Archbishop, being more than capable in his profession, enjoyed some mild success and became Pope Pius XI.  One of his first official acts was to bring Teodolinda to Rome to run his household in the Vatican.  She was the first woman in history other than a nun to live in the Papal residence.  Caused a bit of a stir.

Debi with Tina Goldstein at Banfi

There are mountains on both sides of Napa Valley, which is probably why we call it a valley in the first place. The Mayacamas Range, Atlas Peak, Spring Mountain, and like that. But among them, Diamond Mountain holds a special place in my heart. Our friend Peter Thompson has his Andrew Geoffrey vineyard on Diamond Mountain (way at the top), and so do our friends Walter and Joan Teachworth.

We met the Teachworths through Neil and Karen Aldoroty, who are the owners of a private wine storage facility in St. Helena. They sit on a lot of really good wine for their customers, and when they discover something special, they let us know. (It’s also how we met Gary Ochwat and Ricardo Cajulis, who generously shared their Garric Cellars wines with Wine Fest attendees this past February.)

The Teachworth Vineyard

Having heard Neil’s praises of Teachworth’s wines, we decided to make a phone call. Joan immediately extended a gracious invitation to lunch, which we accepted with both delight and alacrity, and trekked up a nearly-vertical Diamond Mountain road on the appointed day. Best thing we ever did.

I suppose if you, like Walter Teachworth, started drinking aged Chateau Lafite and Chateau Latour in the 1970s and paid about $6 a bottle for it, you’d develop a taste for the Good Stuff. He did, and shared it with his adorable and bubbly wife Joan, who got the idea in no time at all.

Walter Teachworth and Debi

By the mid-1990s, the couple had had just about enough of building houses and condos in Galveston, so there was only one place for them to go. Guess where.

The irony is that they never intended to become vintners. For them, it was enough to build a gorgeous home with waterfalls and riots of flowers, a pool that looks like some kind of exotic desert oasis, and a terrace that offers breathtaking views of the area. The idea was to drink a little wine, do some hiking, relax. Didn’t work out.

For better or worse, the land they bought for their home simply cried out to be planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. They couldn’t resist. Who could?

The Teachworths enjoyed another stroke of good fortune. Their neighbors were Al and Boots Brounstein, a lovely, gentle couple who just happened to make a deservedly-famous selection of wines called Diamond Creek. Fabulous stuff, costs around $135 a bottle, and worth every nickel. Al convinced Walter to produce two single-vineyard wines from the vines he had planted, which is exactly what happened.

Miles Grant & Joan Teachworth

Sidebar – when we go to Napa, we have the custom of stopping by Dean & DeLuca, buying up a ton of breads, cheeses, cold cuts, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and the like, and bringing them to lunch at the home of our friends. So that’s what we did with Walter and Joan.

They welcomed us like long-lost cousins, maybe because they were hungry, but probably because they’re just that kind of people. This is how we had the delightful opportunity to sit on their terrace and savor both the Manzanita Vineyard and Rattlesnake Vineyard bottlings…along with an Estate Blend, which is a combination of the two.

The Other Teachworth Vineyard

The good news is that Walter and Joan have accepted our invitation to showcase their highly-allocated wines at next year’s event…both at a vintner dinner and the Grand Tasting. You’re going to love the wines, and you’re absolutely going to love the Teachworths.

Debi, me, and Joan Teachworth, October 2009

Well, not quite, but our progress is decidedly steady.  We’re still staying a bit closemouthed about the featured vintners we’ve invited, because even though they’re mostly confirmed, the details of their participation are still fermenting in the vat.  I expect we’ll have most of this nailed down in the next 60 days or so, and you can anticipate some announcements about participants and sponsors in the press and on this website.  As they’re announced, we’ll be telling you all about them.

The "Falcon Crest" house at Spring Mountain Vineyard

Mainly, though, most of the discussions and meetings have been about the chefs who will present their culinary creations at the hosted dinners and the Grand Tasting.  Shannon Yates, who’s been wandering around loose a bit lately, says he’s in, and I’m glad about that.  Our Chef’s Committee has had several coffee meetings, they’re in touch with people of culinary genius all over Southwest Florida, and all sorts of great possibilities are waiting to be set before us.

They’re also confirming the generous people who will be hosting one of the Chef/Vintner dinners, so if you have the room and would like to support children’s charities in the area, we’d love to hear from you.

The shores of Lake Como

On the wine side, I’ve still been collecting some selected stuff, thanks to the cooperation of our local distributors.  A few cases of very nice higher-end reds are now sleeping under temperature control, waiting for you and me to pop their corks.

IMROVEMENTS – At a recent wine committee meeting, I asked the members to critique last year’s event in terms of the wine selection, quantity, serving arrangements, organization, and other factors.  They were merciless in their evaluations, which is what I’d hoped for.  Thirty years in advertising has given me a thick skin, and I only cried a little.

One thing we’re going to do is offer more white wines at the Saturday event.  Seems that many of our guests experienced thirsts that ran in the white, rather than red, direction, so we’ll do a better job with that next February.

My wine cellar...I wish

Another thing is to dedicate a goodly portion of the Grand Tasting bottles to the auction room, so when you come in for the auction, treats will be on your table.  My inventory spread sheet already has a column for how many bottles will be served outside, and how many set aside for indoor consumption.  (Many, many of them, in case you’re asking).

It’s getting good.  Stay tuned.