ANDREA ZANFI'S WINE JOURNEYS

A 52-year-old super-Tuscan from Grosseto and former restaurant owner, Andrea Zanfi is the epitome of an Epicurean traveler. In his splendid book iSupertuscans (Carlo Cambi, 2002) he tells the story of the Supertuscan phenomenon and provides portraits of 76 winemakers and their 107 different wines. "In just a few decades," he told me, "the Supertuscans have emerged to compete with great wines around the world. Having provided an opportunity for creative freedom in enology, they represent the possible expression of a territory, Tuscany, whose red grapes are capable of exalting the quality of wines."

Even before iSupertuscans had won the Gourmand Awards "Best Book on Wine" for 2003 on February 27, 2004 in Barcelona, Zanfi had completed his next volume, Journey Through the Great Wines of Sicily (Carlo Cambi, 2003), which he presented in person at the International Wine Academy in Rome on February 6. In a year he traveled 17,000 kilometers, visiting 54 winemakers and tasting 418 wines, before choosing the 44 winemakers and 90 wines to describe with the visual support of the superb photographs of Sicilian Giņ Martorana.

The format for these two volumes is similar: a presentation of each wine producer and his or her cantina in the first person, followed by a black-and-white portrait, color shots of the cantine and its territory, with brief reports of each top wine. Both titles are published in Italian and in English versions.

Carlo Cambi will continue to publish Zanfi's wine journeys to every Italian region. In 2004 Zanfi will visit Friuli/Venezia-Giulia; in 2005 Piemonte so the volume will hit the bookstores for the Winter Olympics to be held in Turin from February 10-26, 2006; and in 2006 Campania.

Zanfi is not a newcomer to publishing. His other volumes, available in both English and Italian versions, are Tuscan Grappa and the Masters of Time , Olive Oil in Tuscany , and Andar per Tavolo : Toscana , an ideal companion for his fellow-Epicurean travelers. Divided into ten chapters, one for each province of Tuscany, Zanfi describes his beloved region's parishes, castles, and museums; proposes 400 restaurants which serve traditional local cuisine; provides information about the various "wine roads", on DOC and DOCG, the best 100 cantine for tastings as well as suggestions on hotels and agriturismi .

His titles only available in Italian are A caccia di Delizie , which includes the addresses of 350 stores in Tuscany selling typical Tuscan products; A Tavola col Nobile , which explains the history and culture behind the cuisine of the southwest region of the province of Siena and how it relates to the local wine; La Castagna , a history of the chestnut in Italy with 167 recipes; Ricettario della Cucina Toscana , a book of Tuscan recipes; and last but not least, Maremma in Pentola , recipes for the fireplace from this southernmost region of Tuscany. All Zanfi's books can be ordered his website: www.andreazanfi.it.