He and are are going to talk about the specificity of place, but not with an initial focus on the notion of "Terroir." Rather, we will begin with the experience of exile-- political or civic or domestic. One could not help thinking about Odysseus, but the the great Florentine, Niccolo Macchiavelli, will be our anchor.

As is appropriate to an evening hosted by two friends with careers teaching at St. John's, this evening will include a required reading: The Letter to Vettori, by Machiavelli. If you sign up for the evening, we will send you a link to the text; it is also easy to find in print.

We will pour 10 wines, including Montevertine, Istine, Le Boncie, Cigliano di Sopra, and San Gugliemo. And my 1999 Sangiovese, out of magnum.