Vinous Media: The 2019 Aglianico del Vulture Titolo is stunning. It opens with a bit of an exotic flair, mixing smoky plum and lavender with animal musk, crushed ashen stone and a whiff of sour citrus that lights up the senses. Then it enters the palate...

Wine Country: ItalyWine Subregion: CampaniaWine Sub-subregion: TaurasiWine Varietal: AglianicoBin Location: J8-J10

Contrade di Taurasi is owned by Sandro Lonardo, a local schoolteacher, and his wife Enza. They bottle Irpinia Aglianico, Taurasi, and small amounts of a white wine made from Grecomusc’, an indigenous white variety. Their vineyards are all exposed...

Michele Perillo is another excellent small farmer and winemaker. He comes from Castelfranci, in the south-east corner of the appellation, about half an hour away from the town of Taurasi itself. His first bottled vintage was 1999, before which he sold...

My son took us to his favorite ‘top secret, no one can know about this’ music coffee shop in Osaka this past spring. It’s so special he’s worried Japan’s rampant Instagrammers are going to discover it and ruin the place. Anyway, I had a sonic epiphany...

Wine Country: ItalyWine Subregion: Basilicata