President’s Day comes with few notable traditions. But a toast of “Philip” Cabernet Sauvignon from the Fonterutoli Estate in Tuscany, Italy is an appropriate option. The namesake, Philip Mazzei, was an illustrious member of an Italian winemaking family that taught Thomas Jefferson, America's second president, the ins and outs of Italian wine over 200 years ago.
Mazzei, a trained surgeon turned merchant-statesman, was one of the first to call himself a “citizen of the world.” The Enlightenment values that permeated his native country of Tuscany were evident in his way of liberal thinking. He is credited for inspiring Jefferson’s introduction in the Declaration of Independence, namely that “all men are created equal."
