82 APRIL 2019
MY AFFECTION FOR NATURAL WINE began in early 2005, with Jacques
Puffeney’s flor-aged Savagnin, which I discovered while testing a
recipe for sambal ikan bilis at my soon-to-open Manhattan
restaurant, Fatty Crab. I was tasting wine for the opening list, and
the marriage of spice and the sherry-like qualities of that wine
stunned me. It rewired how I thought about wine and opened up
a new world of flavors.
Fast-forward a decade. Fatty Crab may be gone (it closed in 2016),
but natural wines are now a major movement. And my first taste
has grown into an obsession: For four years, I’ve maintained an
all-natural wine list at Fish & Game, my restaurant in Hudson,
New York, and I host a natural wine festival in the Hudson Valley
each November. So when my friend Ross Bingham, a former
motorcycle racer turned wine importer, invited me along for a visit
with his favorite natural winemakers in Italy, I could hardly refuse.
The trip took place during midsummer, with me as the second
driver, shotgun navigator, trusted palate, and drinking companion.
We flew into Milan and hit the road, swirling glasses from
Lombardy through Tuscany and into Lazio and Campania, driving
into a Mediterranean sunset with teeth dyed purple, pesce all’acqua
pazza calling our names.
