Italian winemakers have a storied history of developing grapes that are symbiotic with their climate and soil conditions. The characteristics of each grape have been tailored to the land and to the local cuisine – and vice versa.

Until recently, many Italian wine producers were more interested in quantity than quality; American consumers were more interested in price than quality. The result was just like those 1960s movies about Italian marriage: dysfunctional, apoplectic relationships masked by hedonistic lifestyles. We were in wine hell and didn’t even know it – or care.