Robert V. Camuto

Check out the interview  by Huff Post's Louise McCready. Wine as food, green agriculture, France, Sicily, the Mafia and the Big Mess: 

Expat Robert Camuto On His Oenophilic Excursions In France

Listen to Robert on Santa Barbara Table Talk radio. March 5, 2009. (MP3 format).

A year ago, at the esteemed Chateau Simone wine estate in the tiny Palette appellation just outside Aix-en-Provence I had a conversation with the property's owner, the dapper old world René Rougier.

I mentioned to M. Rougier the proposal by the Socialist presidential candidate to eliminate champagne from the presidential Elysée Palace.

"But of course!" M. Rougier said dryly. "Wine is one of the glories of France and we the French are experts in self-destruction!"

The first of two parts of this interview with the Gary Vaynerchuk -- the pyrotechnic host of Wine Library TV.

On my two-week trip to America, I noticed a huge change, and not just in the relief of having a new president (Obama's heady "Yes we can" replacing Bush's "Don't even think about it" when it comes to new ideas and bettering the planet).

Video of Robert talking about Corkscrewed, the state of French terroirs and sustainable wine growing at McNally Jackson books in NYC. Special thanks to the fine staff at NY's best bookstore and to Wine Therapy, which provided natural wines (mostly) from Corkscrewed.