Buon giorno! (or buona sera, depending on when you're reading this.) Another month, another wine tasting over the Tubes. This month's tasting, brought to us by good Dr. Vino, focuses on indigenous grape varieties, grown on their native soil.  We're talking about grapes that are not "The Big Six" -- Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. We're talking ancient wines from ancient places.

Along with the 20-odd other students in my class, Liz included, I put my nose into my glass of 2004 Casa Zuliani Sauvignon Blanc and took a good, long sniff.

"What is everyone getting here?" Our instructor asks, peering into his wine.

In April of 2001, through a series of fortuitous events, I found myself in a rented Alfa Romeo parked in front of Castello di Verrazzano, a historic vineyard in the small town of Greve, just south of Florence along the scenic route to Siena known as the Chiantiania.