As a winemaker, most of my travel is in service of work, and the days have a habit of filling up with visits with sommeliers after my morning tea until far past my usual bedtime. No matter how busy the trip, or how eager I am to get back to my family, I always build in a few hours to sneak away to a gallery, museum, or show. Outside of good food and wine, it’s the only thing I can’t miss.
On my mind this month is the upcoming Venice Biennale. Adriano Pedrosa’s curation of contemporary artists takes on the expansive idea of Stranieri Ovunque: Foreigners Everywhere. The perfect lens for an exhibition; chimeric and challenging. But if you’re among the art cognoscenti descending upon the waters of Venice at dinnertime, there may be other challenges in store.
It would feel wrong, or at least deflating, to wade mouth-deep in beauty all day only to wander into a meal of bad fettuccine and wine fit only for turiste. So I asked Bobby Stuckey, master sommelier, hospitalian, restaurateur, and cookbook author—and co-owner of Frasca Hospitality Group—for some help drinking wine like a local, even as you contend with your existential foreignness.
Wherever you go, take note of the wines you love, especially those from Friuli. It’s just an hour from Venice! Once the Biennale wraps, extend your stay and book a series of tastings at the wineries of your new favorite Friulian producers, those bright glasses that cut through the shimmering haze of art and Venetian food you just luxuriated in.
Maggie Harrison is the founder, creative director, and winemaker of Antica Terra.
Photo: Courtesy of Osteria alle Testiere