Books and Bottles with Author Jennifer Robson (Our Darkest Night) and Nate Harry (The Italian wines of Emilio Bulfon)

Date and Time for this Past Event

• Thursday, Feb 18, 2021  7pm - 8:30pm

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Our 5th Virtual Book club continues to promote connections during this unusual time of social isolation. This time we landed on a theme of History and Walking your own path. As we settle into the colder weather, DRINK's Books & Bottle team is pleased to turn to a thought provoking novel by Jennifer Robson, set against the backdrop of WWII in Italy, for our 5th installment of our Books and Bottles Virtual Event series.

DRINK has paired this book with the historical wines from Italian Winery Emilio Bulfon. At the heart of the work that Emilio Bulfon started in 1974 was the will to persevere in the identification, enhancement and protection of these native vines. Emilio Bulfon was largely alone in his thinking. Yet still he wasn’t prepared to settle for a vineyard mix that would bring about the extinction of Friuli’s grape identity. The thought of extinction, within his own lifetime, was something he simply could not, would not, countenance. In a fate filled moment, Emilio chose to follow the unbeaten path. It would not be an easy one but it was the one that Mother Nature herself had generously designed for Friuli. Nate Harry will discuss the nuances of his wines and provide history on the wines of Italy.

Author Kristin Beck calls Jennifer Robson’s "Our Darkest Night" - “A profoundly moving story of ordinary people who show extraordinary courage in their fight against the evil and devastation of World War II Italy. With nuanced characters and beautiful, evocative prose, Robson weaves a compelling tale of bravery, perseverance, and the immeasurable power of love in the face of adversity.”

Robson has a gift for illuminating the struggles and hopes of ordinary people against a backdrop of life-changing events... Although Robson’s readers know the broad outcome of the war, Nina’s story contains multiple twists that will keep readers guessing as to how things will turn out for her. Powerful, heartbreaking and full of wise, compassionate characters, Our Darkest Night is the story of a woman learning to fight for what–and whom–she loves in the face of great evil.” – Katie Noah Gibson for Shelf Awareness

As the action takes the reader from the city of Venice to the rustic life of a family farm in the Northern Mountains, we felt it fitting to pair Our Darkest Night with the wines of Emilio Bulfon, a family winery with roots in viticulture

“Ancient vines, that seemed to have disappeared, overwhelmed by undergrowth and human neglect, in a land historically devoted to viticulture, have now been brought to new life thanks to the passion of Emilio Bulfon.”

Emilio Bulfon has long been famous in Friuli for his rediscovery of many ancient grape varieties. Until about forty-five years ago, they seemed to have been lost, overwhelmed by undergrowth and human neglect, in the foothills near Pordenone. Historically, this has always been wine country and Bulfon’s unique passion gave the varieties a new lease on life. He treated them with the respect worthy of archaeological remains and replanted them, with advice from local experts. Much of the rediscovered historical record found referencing these grapes shows their existence in the region for at least two or three hundred years. Above all else the wines are delicious, versatile with food and absolutely unique in flavor. You just have to taste them.

Almost nobody doesn’t like the wines from Emilio Bulfon! Emilio’s wines are a curious Joy! Why, you may ask? Well because, for first timers like us, there is effectively no taste benchmark. You’re tasting blind. Not in the literal sense you understand. Just blind to your mind’s eye. The wines pour and a new world opens. Almost all of Bulfon’s wines are 100% monovarietals. It makes sense. With rare taste profiles, our first dip into this impressive grape gene pool is a memorable one. Across the range from whites to reds, sparkling to sweet styles, there is an immediate aromatic awakening.

Emilio Bulfon Wines Available for Pre-Sale Only – To order

2019 Blanc di San Zuan
Dry white wine; savory, intense; some tropical fruit, white pepper

2019 Cianoros
Spicy, fruit forward, red fruit with dark undertones, versatile

2019 Piculit Neri
Dry, fruit forward red wine; dark forest fruit; signature and absolutely unique

Tasting 3-pack (2018 Blanc di San Zuan, 2019 Cianoros , 2019 Piculit Neri)

Due to the interactive nature of a book club, we will be hosting the group on Zoom.

To gain access to the Zoom meeting, we are requesting you either purchase a ticket or wines to taste to participate.

To order a bottle or the tasting pack of wine, email (info@drinkraleigh.com) or call us (919.977.0705) by Febuary 15th. The access code will be on your receipt.

If you are unable to participate in the actual event, we will be posting the event to IGTV and Facebook afterwards so you won’t miss a moment!