Christina Waters

Don’t miss the chance to see UCSC’s own cosmological mathematician Ralph Abraham demystify fractals on a fascinating documentary, Tuesday Oct 28, 2008 at 8 pm on PBS-Nova.

The name of the program is Hunting the Hidden Dimension, and if you miss it you can still see the entire episode on-line at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/.

Witness the awesome spectacle of Bonny Doon Vineyard President for Life Randall Grahm trading oeno-wits with vine geek Gary Vaynerchuk on Wine Library TV. This gonzo behind-the-scenes foray into deep tannin-speak is so big, so bold, so over-the-top that it requires TWO episodes.

Not to miss!

Once edified, prepare to toast RG at the winery’s new tasting room - opening in two weeks - on Ingalls Street.

That link again: http://tv.winelibrary.com/.

Here are a few of my picks for this weekend’s Open Studios art crawl.

In Bonny Doon, the studio of Ray Gwyn Smith is filled with prints, new landscape paintings and spectacular views of the redwood forest. Stop by Oct. 18-19, from 11am-6pm and savor. Smith’s studio is located at 997 Smith Grade - five miles up Empire Grade, turn left onto Smith Grade and follow the Open Studio signs. Call 831/227-5971 if you get lost.

Sara Friedlander’s kinetically-inflected images of the New York subway system and glittering architecture plunge the viewer into a wrap-around perspective. Check them out this weekend at Friedlander’s Fairmont Avenue studio.

Entrees at la Campana followed an amazing salad of that curious wild celeryesque vegetable, puntarelle, bathed in an addictive anchovy sauce.

The magnificent Ristorante la Campana — so old that Caravaggio surely dined here — continues to provide clear, bold dishes amidst the narrow warrens of medieval Rome. We were overcome with the perfection of this buttery filet in balsamico reduction.

The meal ended with very tiny, almost fairytale sweet fragoline – served with only a light dusting of sugar and squeeze of lemon.

Many reasons. It’s a hilltown atop ancient Etruscan cemeteries. With a population of barely 1000, it’s walkable, accessible and open-armed. The Saturday we arrived, the old medieval marketplace was filled by a - market - in full swing. Huge porchetta, wild hogs, had been roasted and stuffed with sage and olives. Fragrant meat sliced from the heads made amazing sandwiches, which we consumed — along with the entire town — in the September sun, sitting on old paving stones and listening to music.

Did I mentioned the 1st century BC Roman amphitheater?(stairs leading beneath the stage,shown here) Or the priceless Mannerist masterpiece by Rosso Fiorentino housed in the unassuming Museo? Or the countrystyle cuisine long on farro soups, sensuous fagioli, wild boar chops, rabbit stews and chianina beef? This is no country for old vegetarians, but the endless terroir-driven chianti classicos could properly take a lifetime to survey. We did our part.

At one of many fine local dining rooms — il Sacco Fiorentino — we sampled beautifully-made dishes of the season. A sensitive appetizer of fresh zucchini “turban” filed with supple sautéed porcini and a small pool of fresh tomato sauce, tasted even better than it sounded.

Views like this.

In the ancient walled hilltown of Volterra, sangiovese grapes sprawled on hillsides, ready to be harvested and we couldn’t get enough of the fresh porcinis, wild boar and chianti classico.

Centuries of artisanal pride and culinary savvy was showcased in every beautiful shop — like this pasticeria loaded with authentic tiramisu and cannoli.

So how was this latest trip to Italy? Here are a few choice images - words to follow.

Mint tagliarelli with fresh porcinis — at La Bussola in Firenze. Quite possibly the finest plate of pasta I’ve ever had.