On the plane, Boston > JFK > Milan. My first trip to Piemonte. Not my first trip to Italy. What did I want from this visit? People, profiles, portraits. A lay of the land, physical and metaphorical. Nebbiolo’s essence. Barolo versus Barbaresco. Sparkling, white, pink — will there be any, or just a lake of red, red, red?”

I’d received the invitation to January’s “Nebbiolo Prima Academy” last fall. It promised four days of discovery and learning, a chance to taste, meet producers, see the territory. Events were sponsored by the Albeisa Consorzio, which promotes Langhe wines.