Bringing the generations together with wine

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Wine bridges the gap of generations

Victor Rallo Jr and Anthony Verdoni are experts in Italian wine and the culture that surrounds it. Their friendship bridges generations, and their knowledge teaches us all.

One of the things I love the most about wine is how it brings the generations together.

I still remember my grandfather at the dinner table with his gallon of homemade wine on the floor next to him, cutting peaches to cut the taste. And then filling my juice glass with just a little bit.

But when you bring the generations together to even talk about wine, the history and that youthful passion often can combine to create that perfect swirl in a glass.

Vic Rallo and Tony Verdoni are doing just that.  Blending generations by writing a book together, doing a TV show together called "Eat! Drink! Italy!" -- and basically finishing each other’s sentences.

Rallo, the younger, grew up in the restaurant business and Met Verdoni, the elder when he was delivering wine to Rallo’s father’s restaurant.

Rallo actually went on to become a lawyer, but came back to the restaurant world and now owns two New Jersey restaurants, Basil T's Brewery and Italian Grill in Red Bank and Undici Taverna Rustica in Rumson.

Verdoni, known as 'Il Professore,' in the industry these days, not only because he taught classical languages and literature for 20 years at St. Peters College, but even more for his extensive knowledge of the history of wine and the Italian culture.

Together they offer oenophiles Italian wine history with modern day enthusiasm.

I think these guys are such a beautiful reminder of what wine does. It reminds us to slow down and take notice of the people, the places, the history, the moment.

I find my life is so frenetic lately that the only time I slow down is with a glass of wine.  Because you sip it, you don’t chug it and often times the wine I’m drinking comes with a story.

Or maybe I’m just creating a new one.

Cent’ Anni.