I'm flipping through my pictures of this amazing trip I took with David Bryant and three others in Italy ( all men - five of us ! ) - how much trouble can we get in tunneling/ barreling around in Italy in a Fiat Hercules van?!? I'm sure much more than we actually did. We all had our own marvelous experiences, some private , some shared because of David. I'm looking at the pictures of David in Alto Adige up in the Dolomite mountains. We've all had lunch at the ALOIS LAGEDER winery and have just walked out into the court yard and who should be there to greet us : Alois and his lovely wife. The pictures I took of this moment with David making introductions and talking to Alois and his wife are some of the very best I took of him the whole trip. He looks marvelous and so I will have to scan these ASAP and share them with you all. He looks like a man at the top of his element, fully relaxed, fully engaged, relaxed and open and receptive to stimulation, contact and fully prepared to share this bounty all around him that is Italy and beautiful mountains and winemaking that is striving to be biodynamic and earth-friendly - and the very best that it can be - impressive. We were all enveloped in a lovely glow already of the thick, juicy rare steaks and green salads we just ate, the clean air, the brightness of the day, the open sweep of this courtyard that both opened to the surrounding but also cushioned and protected - was there anything to be protected from ?!? Probably not. The history of place, the climbing vines up the walls , the green everywhere, fresh from so many history stories from David previously of place and moment and the here and the now - wow, we were the bearers of so much bounty. We were all smiling, all receptive, all wanting and waiting to see what would come next? We did not have to wait long, we said our " thank yous " and " good byes " to Alois and his wife and wandered over to the tasting room where we had the opportunity to taste another thirty or so Alois Lageder wines. We split up and tackled the tables as we best saw fit depending on our various interests.
David was at his best, he was in a sense waving his magic wand for us and things were happening for us and we shared and lived private moments both which we still can recall I am sure to this very day. We're sorry David that you've left our stage of life. We'll miss you. Perhaps you can get together with Michael Downey and chat over old times and say a prayer for us and smile down at us as we stumble and fumble and sometimes glide seamlessly , thrilled, smiling broadly through the here and now adventures of life that ensnare, pass through, by and all around us - aware of us? Probably not. That's okay. It was grand, it was a gift. You shared it with us. Grazie David ... TONY
1 comment:
Anthony, I stumbled across your blog today in a search for David Bryant. I was a customer of his from '96 - '99 and seeing your note about him, Italy and Lageder, brought back a flood of memories. I know exactly what you mean when you speak of David in his element. David called me one day to see if I would be in the restaurant that afternoon so he could bring Allesandro Furlan of Castelcoso by to do a tasting. I was not in the restaurant that day, so he and Allesandro came by my home and we sat on my back porch, drank wine and shared a delightful spring afternoon together that became much more than a tasting. I had not known of his passing, though I had spoken to him after he had gotten sick. I am sorry to hear that he is no longer with us. If I know and love anything about wine, it was only due to his tutelage and passion and patience. And I am with you - I am sure he and Robert are enjoying a Vin Santo from Paolo di Marchi in heaven right now. Thanks for your note.
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