Only a vegeterian...

...or perhaps a carnivore with a weakness for artichokes would think those are the best regions, Nora.  And, perhaps I was having a coughing fit when the draw was made, but i am not sure why 6 people drawing from 22 regions needed to add "Jolly" to make the draw work...don't tell me we finally allowed Brian to include the Vatican as a region!  I think all omnivores of discerning taste (not to mention oenophiles) will agree that I drew the best regions -- Umbria; Piemonte; Toscana; and Abruzzo.  Of course, purchasers of Abruzzo wines will have to exercise some caution.  Perhaps I will go google-bomb the Vintages site now to ensure enough choice when Abruzzo comes around. When are we getting started again, anyway? MA 

It All Started Over Dinner

Back in 2005, Brian, Mary Anne, Guy, Rosanna, and Nora formed the Italian Dinner Club, with the idea of having a rotating series of dinner parties, one for each region of Italy. Whoever hosted a given dinner would prepare all the food, and could invite 'special guests' to mix things up. Well it took 3 years, many memorable meals, and one trip to Rome, but we finally finished all the regions.

Not only were we still speaking to one another at the end of 36 months on the project, we were still into the idea of another round of dinners. But from where? France? Too meaty for the vegetarians. After mulling over a few options, we decided to repeat the whole series again, confident that there would be more than enough variety for a second round.

This time, we invited Wendy, a regular 'special guest', to join. After a few 'plenary sessions' to figure out how to divide the regions, we went with the tried-and-true 'scraps of paper in a hat' model. Personally, I think I lucked out. I not only drew Veneto, Puglia and Lazio, we created a 'Jolly' wildcard category!