This is first of a series of sponsored posts documenting Bohemian and Pacific Sun publisher Rosemary Olson’s wine and food cruise around Italy and Croatia with Duckhorn Vineyards and Food & Wine Trails.

Our ship, Oceania Cruise’s Riviera sets sail from Rome. I’m traveling solo and I walked into the first evening at a private Duckhorn Vineyards reception from not knowing anyone on the ship to meeting 100 eager travel companions. We range in age from 30 on up and come from across the U.S. Walking into the room and being able to make a connection with complete strangers is fascinating. We all quickly see the thread of our love for good wine and food. Alex Ryan, Duckhorn’s president and CEO, says his wines “celebrate life and new stories.” So off we go.

Sorrento/Capri, Italy

Our first day is all about Roman history and we tour the vineyards of Vesuvius guided by Piera owner of Vin Viaggiana. She is a history buff who has been giving tours since 2001. She is full of humor and spunk. She is also a celebrated sommelier who works exclusively with Food & Wine Trails.

I sit in the front of the bus next to Piera to get much more insight and stories. She’s married to a Scot. She says she’s shocked how much beer Scots drink vs the volumes of wine Italians drink. Sitting in the first seat behind the driver, I see the hairpin turns we are making, nearly gasping at each turn while nearly skimming the scooter riders with no helmets.

In the Campania region, we explored ancient Stabiae, one of only seven Roman villas buried by volcanic ash by Mount Vesuvius. The ruins were excavated twice. The first time many of the mosaics, frescoes and statues were looted. It’s astonishing how much skill and time that went into the interior murals and frescoes. Inside we saw an underground thermal bath. It’s believed that slaves went through tunnels 24 hours a day to keep fires hot to warm the baths. I will appreciate my hot tub even more!

Venturing through the towns of Pompeii up to a winery for a tour and lunch, we saw the local produce of lemons (home of the famous limoncello which I now know how to make), oranges, olives and walnuts in abundance. Tomatoes originated from Christopher Columbus which surprised me and the olive trees from Greeks which makes sense. Farmers once came down the mountains in cloaks carrying cheese, earning it the name ‘monks cheese.’ Nearby Grananio is known for its dried pasta. It was once dried in the streets by young boys hand fanning it. Speaking of fanning, the temperature is abnormally hot, we felt like we were literally baking under the sun needing fanning ourselves!

Finally, we arrived at the Sorrentino Family Vineyard. Zio Antonio greets us at the driveway with an eager smile. He was the classic Italian we were waiting for, hugging and kissing, flirting with the woman, engaging in fun with the men. He was the master wine pourer, a few glasses for us, the rest for him as he’d tilt his head back and down the final pours! Every time he did this, about 20, he became more lively. Wine at the five-generation old vineyard is 100 percent organic. Grapes are grown in volcanic soil which reportedly gives the grapes a higher sugar content which is my preference along with higher alcohol levels in more full-bodied reds. California’s reds like Cab and Zin are higher in alcohol than Italy’s heartier reds.

Back in the days of Roman Empire, we learned, wine was with honey, saltwater or sap. Locals say this added to their feisty gatherings and uproars…was this a preservative?

Lunch started with Spumante and then various wines and a four-course meal of cheese, roasted peppers, fried zucchini balls, pasta, roasted eggplant and zucchini, sausage, antipasti, fruits and cakes, and a very entertaining Papa Antonio.

Ciao until next time.

E & J Gallo Winery (Gallo), the world’s largest family-owned winery, already claims ownership of 12 wineries throughout the wine country regions of California. Yesterday, they announced that they were expanding in the northern Alexander Valley region of Sonoma County with the purchase the historic Asti Winery.

Asti Winery dates back to 1881, founded by Italian immigrant Andrea Sbarboro. The current owner, Treasury Wine Estates, is actually based in Australia, and is reportedly struggling in the American wine market. Gallo, on the other hand, is robustly moving into the area, recently buying J Vineyards and Winery in Healdsburg as well.

The Asti Winery property, aside from being one of the oldest, is also one of Sonoma County’s largest wineries, exceeding more than 500 acres and capable of crushing 35,000 tons of grapes. Gallo’s purchase also includes the Souverain brand, made at Asti. The deal is expected to close at the end of the month, terms were not released.

In the 1960s, two Harvard professors would meet and begin an exchange of life-altering ideas, and perception-altering drugs, in a journey that bent the edges of reality and human consciousness. They were Timothy Leary, the counterculture icon who publicly advocated for LSD, and Richard Alpert, the spiritual teacher later known as Ram Dass.

The new documentary film “Dying to Know” chronicles the long and heartfelt friendship between these two revolutionary thinkers that helped shape a generation. Director and producer Gay Dillingham has been fascinated by the dynamic between Leary and Ram Dass ever since she was allowed to capture on film their last encounter in 1995, after Leary publicly announced he was dying from prostate cancer. Finally completing the film last year, she screens “Dying to Know” in person on Friday, July 15, at the Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol.

The film acts as a portal into the close-knit relationship between Leary and Ram Dass. In an interview, Dillingham shares their story and its universal themes of life, death, and everything in between.

“I was born in 1965, so I didn’t live through the Harvard years,” says Dillingham. ” But I certainly rode the wave of that influence.” In the ’60s, Leary’s experiments with psychoactive drugs like LSD signaled what the director calls a “breaking open of society” that was propelled further by Leary’s friendship with the brilliant, grounded Alpert. “They really formed a team,” says Dillingham. “The power of their friendship and collegial partnership was truly what started the way this particular modern era uses medicine to expand consciousness.”

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“To me it felt like this archetypical conversation between the mind and the heart,” says Dillingham. “I have those conversations going on inside me and I figure other people do too.” At it’s core, “Dying to Know” is a story about what it means to be human and to confront life and death’s most daunting aspects. She explains that everyone who has seen the film takes away something different, interprets the themes in their own way. It’s a testament to the emotional power of film.

From that initial recorded meeting in 1995, Dillingham put the project down for many years to start and run an environmental technology business and to try to help implement climate change regulations in her home state of New Mexico. Once her appointment in the state’s government ended in 2010, she re-focused on the project. In 2012, she showed a rough cut of the film to actor, fellow environmentalist and friend Robert Redford, who was so enamored with the subject that he agreed to lend his voice to narrate the film. 

As Redford guides the film’s journey, rare archive footage and personal interviews with Leary and Ram Dass create lasting moments of honesty and love between the friends. “Dying to Know” does largely center around the topic of death, a subject that our culture to this day tries to collectively deny as an aspect of life. Yet, as the film observes Leary and Ram Dass spend a lifetime exploring these difficult ideas, the film leaves a positive message of love and life. 

Director Gay Dillingham and special guests will be on hand to engage in conversation when “Dying to Know” opens on Friday, July 17, at the Rialto Cinemas, 6868 McKinley St, Sebastopol. 707.525.4840.