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3 weeks ago | 
theconnectedtable.com | Melanie Young
Have you ever ventured inside a human-sized kaleidoscope? We’ve always had a fascination with kaleidoscopes but walking into an immersive “Infinity Room” designed as a kaleidoscope was a new experience for us. The art installation at the Giardino Giusti in Verona was part of a special exhibition by Foll.ia studio entitled “Ode al Futuro” commissioned by the Veronese wine company, Pasqua Vigneti E Cantine, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1925.
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3 weeks ago | 
theconnectedtable.com | Melanie Young
Junebug is a delightful addition to New Orleans’ Warehouse District when you want to share food and drinks without feeling weighed down by set courses or tasting menus. The restaurant creates a relaxed ambiance for parties or two, four, six or more, thanks to two substantial adjacent event spaces.
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4 weeks ago | 
theconnectedtable.com | Melanie Young
Mary Taylor has come a long way from working odd jobs in the working-class neighborhood of Massachusetts where she grew up to becoming one of the most successful independent woman-owned wine import companies in the United States. She’s certainly paid her dues, and it is now paying off, even in a changing and challenging wine market. An English major at Boston College, she started out as a wine server at the Boston Harbor Hotel.
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1 month ago | 
theconnectedtable.com | Melanie Young
Valdarno di Sopra (a.k.a. Val d’Arno) is a small DOC located in Arezzo, roughly a 90-minute drive east from Florence. This hilly, forested region sandwiched between Umbria and Chianti is named for the Arno Valley. It served as a country retreat for wealthy Florentines for many years.
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1 month ago | 
theconnectedtable.com | Melanie Young
Poderi Boscarelli in Tuscany’s picturesque winemaking area of Montepulciano is a family-run winery overseen by Paola De Ferrari Corradi and her sons, Luca and Nicolò. We had the pleasure of first visiting Boscarelli in 2009 where we spent an afternoon touring the vineyards and tasting wines. The family’s generous hospitality and well-made wines sealed our appreciation for Boscarelli, an appreciation only further cemented during subsequent visits over the ensuing years.
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2 months ago | 
theconnectedtable.com | Melanie Young
Tuscany is a patchwork quilt of sub-regions with the largest being Chianti DOCG and Chianti Classico DOCG. We’ve taken several field trips to different sub-regions, including DOCG Carmignano, a small gem located amid low-lying hills 10 miles northwest of Florence. Just 39-square kilometers (24.2 miles), it is one of Italy’s smallest and oldest DOCGS, established in 1990. The region has a long winemaking history dating back to the Etruscans.
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Feb 13, 2025 | 
theconnectedtable.com | Melanie Young
We survived Super Bowl LIV Weekend in New Orleans and took advantage of many activities held throughout New Orleans. For both of us it was our first time living in a Super Bowl city. New Orleans really knows how to throw a party. Being the birthplace of Jazz and offering a delicious melting pot of cuisines, there was plenty to partake. It’s also Mardi Gras season, so purple, green and gold flags and banners decorate buildings, people bring out their sparkles and the energy level is high.
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Feb 13, 2025 | 
theconnectedtable.com | Melanie Young
Saffron Nola was born from a vision shared by husband-and-wife team, Arvinder Vilkhu and Pardeep Vilkhu, to marry their Indian heritage with New Orleans flavors and traditions. Arvinder Vilkhu grew up in India to a family of engineers. Deciding to pursue his own path to work in food and beverage management for hotels and restaurants, leading him to New Orleans in 1984.
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Jan 28, 2025 | 
theconnectedtable.com | Melanie Young
The name “Broadbent” is firmly sealed in the legacy of fine wine much like Turnbull & Asser is to bespoke men’s clothing. Both originated in the U.K. where they gained recognition, and both have a global impact. Master of Wine, Michael Broadbent was a world-renowned wine writer and critic who helped establish the fine wine department as Christie’s Auction House in London. He died in 2020 at the age of 92. Well, the grape doesn’t fall far from the vine in this wine family.
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Jan 26, 2025 | 
theconnectedtable.com | Melanie Young
As newly minted New Orleans residents, we are thrilled to see 13 New Orleans chefs and restaurants make the semifinalist round of the 2025 James Beard Foundation Awards. Final nominees will be announced April 2, and the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Chicago on June 16. We’ve dined at or visited most of the semifinalists’ venues and have interviewed a number as well. Here is the list.