Welcome to Book Club and Episode 2465 of the Italian Wine Podcast with Richard Hough. Today Richard is in conversation with Kevin Day, discussing his new book, Opening a Bottle: Italy Stories from the Heart of Italian Wine and 100 Wines to Admire.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Richard and Kevin discuss Kevin’s career in wine, the local wine scene in Colorado, the stories behind some of the remarkable Italian winemakers Kevin has encountered, and the challenges of self-publishing, as well as taking a deep dive into some of the “heroic” wine regions featured in Kevin’s book, including Etna. Kevin also explains the thinking behind his choice of Italy’s 100 most compelling wines.
On the bookshelf:
The books and authors discussed in today’s show include:
Opening a Bottle: Italy Stories from the Heart of Italian Wine and 100 Wines to Admire by Kevin Day. Available now at: https://www.openingabottle.com/.
In the glass:
The wine Kevin described in his third reading was La Marca di San Michele “Passolento” Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Riserva from Le Marche.
About today’s guest:
Kevin Day is a wine writer and photographer and the founder of www.openingabottle.com. He has passed the Wine Scholar Guild's Italian Wine Scholar and French Wine Scholar exams, both with Highest Honors. In 2019, he was shortlisted as the "Emerging Wine Writer of the Year" by the Louis Roederer Wine Writers' Awards. He has also been twice nominated for the Millesima Blog Awards in the Wine Reporter category. Opening a Bottle was also nominated for "Best Individual Blog" by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) in 2019, and Kevin was once again acknowledged by the IACP as a Finalist in the Best Narrative Beverage Writing category in 2024. He is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. He is based in Denver, Colorado, where he conducts his monthly online wine classes with subscribers, and where he lives with his wife, Hailey and two daughters.
Connect:
Website: https://www.openingabottle.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/openingabottle/
More about the host:
Richard Hough is the editor, translator and project curator behind Wine Democracy and Vine and Prejudice. He has also published several books about life in Verona, chronicling the city’s history, culture and daily life, not forgetting, of course, its wine! With a long-standing passion for whisky and beer, he’s a relative newcomer to the world of wine and is now desperately trying to make up for lost time! He is the host of Book Club on the Italian Wine Podcast.
Connect:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rickhough.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verona_campione
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickhough/
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Until next time, Cin Cin!