Chapter 1 Plow For centuries, winemakers assumed that a good till reanimated the soil. To start afresh, they believed, you just needed to turn all the soil upside down. They dutifully hoed their vineyards twice a year: once at the end of the growing season and again just before spring. Plowing peaked during the 1980s as interest in wine boomed worldwide. If the traditional light turnover twice a year was good, the enthusiastic hoers believed, a deep cleansing every few months with a five-­hundred-­horsepower Disk Ripper tiller was better. In recent years, partly as a result of the advent of natural winemaking, plowing has become more thoughtful. Some conscientious growers have turned away from machines, which can chop up the roots along with the weeds, and toward horse-­drawn plows. Old-­fashioned tilling, they believe, gives you more control, preventing damage while breaking up undesirable plants and encouraging the vines to grow deeper by gently loosening the surrounding earth. “Go slow,” they intone. “Be careful.” Other winemakers favor planting over plowing. During the off-­season, they grow cover crops such as peas, oats, and clover between the rows of vines to minimize soil erosion. “Don’t churn up dust,” the nurturers aver. “Sprinkle some seed.” Some die-hard naturalists eschew both sowing and digging. The less they touch the soil, the better. The fish guy vanished. My wife, Becky, and I had bare

“Who would have guessed it? The wine world is just as crazy and full of intrigue as the restaurant scene. Uncorked knocks wine off its pedestal and yet elevates it at the same time. I’m more of a beer guy, but after reading Marco Pasanella’s book I suddenly have the urge to build a serious wine cellar. He takes wine out of the hands of oenological snobs—and pulls back the curtain of mystery surrounding the grape’s sublime elixir—and places it into the hands of the common man. This is a surprising, heartfelt, and entertaining book.” —Steven Dublanica, author of the bestselling Waiter Rant   “Facing the East River, not far from the amazing Brooklyn Bridge, is one of New York’s most unique wine stores. Pasanella & Son is the charming and evocative brainchild of Marco Pasanella. Marco is extremely knowledgeable about wines: how they taste, how they are made, and how they are bottled. The story he tells in Uncorked is much more than what wine to pair with what, and everyone interested in enjoying an excellent glass of wine should read his book.” —Martha Stewart “In this memoir about family, love, wine, and Italy, Marco shares how he reinvented his life—from designer to wineshop owner—and discovered what’s really important. The book is filled with portraits of the wild and crazy characters you find in the food and wine business. It’s also filled with real wisdom. If y