The Times They Are A-Changin'

From time to time I would peruse the auction houses’ wine departments for fun. I have always wondered who those wealthy wine enjoyers are, spending thousands of dollars on a bottle of fine wine. My curiosity led me to explore the other side of the coin; whose wine cellars are up for sale whether by piecemeal (individual wines) or whole collections. When Sotheby’s advertise they are looking for a Wine Operations Manager, I think in my fantasyland head, “Wow, can you imagine being invited to their candidate interview process….a dinner party including who’s who in the fine wine market?!”

Ditto is my inquisitive mind that wants to know who is buying and selling fine art.

Apparently, there is an international shift in wealth and lately, the NYC auction houses are in full flurry of exciting transactions.  For example, Christies has a goodie up for sale, one of Rodin’s “The Thinker” cast, including the grand Parisian salon townhouse Quai d’ Orsay. Neither this masterpiece nor the house come up for sale often and if they did, it was certainly a private transaction. Centuries ago during its prime, the Parisian salon townhouses were the epicenter of intellectual thought.  Ummm, it seems to me that the international elitists lap of luxury may be seeing the beginning of the end to their opulent days of yore. Just as well, because our exchange of intellectual thoughts, ideas, curiosities and witty political banter have also come to an end.

I felt fortunate to had visited an Auguste Rodin exhibition in Treviso, Italy. This exhibit was housed in a Venetian Villa, which was also a work of art.

Treviso is one of my favorite cities to explore and the countryside has unique characteristics that is only offered in this region.

​Treviso’s wine and food scene is all about the Slow Food Movement (farm to table) and Vignaioli Indipendenti (slow wine, independent small winemakers). This translates to low environmental impact cultivation methods. Italians eat very little fast food, processed food, or mass produced wine.

​One of my favorite spots in Treviso, a fantastic find for pranzo is Ristorante Odeon alla Colonna.

The battle outside ragin'
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin' - Bob Dylan