By Ilaria Persello

Last January, Palazzo Medici housed two conferences on the secrets of coffee and wine organised by the Associazione Consonanze and the online journal Dichecibo6?Magazine, with the patronage of the City of Florence. These encounters were hosted by Dr Nicoletta Arbusti, psychologist and president of the association, and introduced by Prof. Franco Banchi, journalist, writer and editor of the magazine.

The non-profit cultural association and the magazine, born with educational and research purposes, deal with food and psychology through a multidisciplinary approach, setting up events dedicated to the inquiry of daily actions, among which we can mention preparing coffee and drinking wine.

The first meeting of the 12th of January focused on ‘Coffee: use and abuse, a journey between history and health’. Prof. Alfonso Lagi, former Head of Internal Medicine and former Director of the Emergency Department at the S. M. Nuova Hospital in Florence, was the lecturer.

Prof. Lagi not only traced the history but introduced me to the discovery of such a beverage in the daily life of people, which conceals interesting psychological and sociological implications that concern the taste, too, and connect to the health sphere. For this reason, he displayed all the competencies necessary to describe the aspects, emotions, origins, physiology and chemistry of the beloved beverage. Medicine and chemistry are not the sole disciplines that can explain what happens when we drink coffee. The coffee ritual follows a thin line that joins taste, culture, science, sociability and much more. Essentially, the universe surrounding this drink coincides with the art of living because, as the great Edoardo De Filippo used to say, I, for example, would renounce everything but this cup of coffee.

The second meeting, on the 19th of January, always at Palazzo Medici Riccardi and hosted by Ms Arbusti and Mr Banchi, has as lecturer Mr Paolo Baracchino, a lawyer, journalist, Fine Wine Critic, Sommelier AIS, Member of the Grand Jury Européen du Vin, and an internationally renowned wine critic. Many experts in this field participated, including wine enthusiasts and several curious and passionate wine lovers.

The conference was about the secrets of wine and had the captivating title of “Wine: memories of sensorial experiences.” As highlighted by Baracchino, wine is a living creature: from the vine to bottling, it changes constantly following its harmony and never stops building itself. It is not just a product to devour. We need to understand it profoundly. It is a marvellous universe.

The Associazione Consonanze and Dichecibo6?Magazine have always been attentive to the connection between individual psychology and the many factors accompanying food and drinks. For this reason, discussing wine and its visual, olfactory and gustatory sides, thanks to such an expert in the field, has helped us to reveal a memory many of us do not know to possess.

On that occasion, as underlined by Arbusti and Banchi, they encompassed the ties that wine has with all the aspects of our life since it crosses them all, even music, emotions, art and philosophy. Baracchino’s testimony was the centrepiece of the conference. More than a lecture, it was an act of love for wine. Linking every explanation to his immense professional experience that brought him to visit winemakers worldwide, he transmitted the pure pleasure of an encounter followed by a glass of wine, defining it as a unique experience. From that meeting, a real Socratic education to wine spurred, inviting the guests not to fear exploring all the pleasures of the multisensory approach.

The many questions guests asked demonstrated the lively and ever-growing interest in an informed approach to wine.

Drinking becomes an art: pleasure, measure, sensitivity, marvel, and conviviality chase one another to raise a real hymn to wine to the sky.

As the poet Alda Merini writes, I love bottomless wine glasses where our mind rejoices.