No, I don’t sell wine. I drink it, read about it, research it, especially those of the sunny south of Italy where I live. And on March 26th I’m going to bicycle the wine route across the entirety of Southern Italy, from Marsala- the most western point in Sicily- to Lecce, the most easterly sizable city in Italy there is, and my home, where my staff will be waiting for me (no doubt doing something squirrelly). Yep, 28 days. Along the way, I’ll meet vintners, vendors, chefs, restaurateurs, farmer and writers, each with a story to tell about wine they love most.

And daily, I’ll be uploading my journal with their pictures and stories, their recipes, my tasting notes and travelogues, and maybe even woes of road rash, over-caffeinated Calabrian drivers and those big, black scorpions that will cross rooms just to sting you. I’ll talk about the food I find, the art and architecture and all the separate and disparate cultures that come together to form the south of Italy. Which roads will I end up taking? Who will I meet? Which wines will I find? What will I think of them? Have they changed since the last time I’ve been there? Will I fall down go boom?

Educated in the humanities in both the US and Italy, Silvestro Silvestori owns and operates The Awaiting Table Cookery School in Lecce, Italy, which he closes once a year for a major bicycle trip, usually inside of Italy. Last year it was 28 days, from Trieste to Lecce (the entire length of Italy) researching little-known fish and shell fish dishes of Adriatic.

Featured on the American television network PBS, and in European and North American periodicals such as Italia!, La Gazzetta del Mezzo Giorno and most recently the Los Angeles Times, The Awaiting Table Cookery School in Lecce, Italy, celebrates its 4th year this September. You can find out more about his school at www.awaitingtable.com.

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