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As a young child in Naples, Italy, Sergio Esposito sat at his kitchen table observing the daily ritual of his large, loud family bonding over fresh local dishes and simple country wines. while devouring the rich bufala mozzarella, still sopping with milk and salt, and the platters of fresh prosciutto, sliced so thin he could see through it, he absorbed the profound relationship of food, wine, and family in Italian Culture.
Passion on the Vine is Esposito's intimate and evocative memoir of his colorful family life in Italy, his abrupt transition to life in America, and his later travels into the heart of Italy-its wine country -and the lives of those who inhabit it. The result is remarkably engaging and entertaining wine/travel narrative replete with vivid portraits of seductive places-the word-famous cellars of Piedmont, the sweeping estates of Tuscany, the lush fields of Campania, the chilly hills of Friuli, the windy beaches of Le Marche; and the memorable people, diverse and vibrant wine artisans-- from a disco dancing vintner who bases his farming on the rhythm of the moon to an obsessive prince who destroys his vineyards before his death so that his grapes will never be used incorrectly.
Espositos luscious accounts of the wonderful food and wine that are so much a part of the Italian life, and his poignant and often hilarious stories of his relationships with his family and his Italian friends make Passion on the Vine an utterly unique and enchanting work about Italy and it's eternally seductive lifestyle.
Without qualification, the best book about Italian wine today, if only because Sergio Esposito understands that its mysterious greatness is in its poetry - the earth, its diurnal magic, the ghosts of great -grandfathers,. A beautiful, boldly sentimental memoir ~Bill Buford
Passion on the Vine is a spellbinding memoir; a vivid, funny, and , yes, passionate tale of family, food and wine. The tour de force chapter on his childhood in Naples will make you wish you were Italian. Sergio Esposito is not only a great epicurean-he's also a great storyteller. ~Jay McInerney
"Esposito's glass is always half-full, when not filled to the brim, and always with something beautifully red and swirling and passionate as are his words in this wine-adventure, story-memoir. His words are like the vines he so ardently writes about, earthgy and deep-rooted, and the wines, perfect on the tongue, with a long finish." ~Frances Mayes
"Do not read this book on an empty stomach....A charming tribute to food, drink, and homeland." ~Kirkus Reviews
"Sergio Esposito culinary memoir is as delicious as the wines and food he lovingly describes. Well, almost as delicious. His literary talents are already known to those of us who eagerly await his periodic newsletters on the latest in Italian wines, but he surpasses himself in the Passion on the Vine" --James B. Stewart
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