Happy Mystery Monday! 🔎 Can you guess who is pictured in photo #1?

The answer to last week’s mystery is the white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis, pictured in photo #2.

The white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis, is a familiar and much-loved songbird native to North America. It breeds in the boreal forests of Canada, the Great Lakes region, and New England. In Winter, many migrate south through the eastern U.S., the Southwest, and even into Mexico. Females tend to migrate further south than males, increasing the proportion of female birds at lower latitudes. Some populations in Canada remain year-round residents, earning it the nickname “a North American original.”

Easily recognized, the white-throated sparrow sports a distinctive white throat patch, bold black-and-white head stripes, and a bright yellow spot between the eye and bill. It favors woodland edges, overgrown areas, and habitats near water, where it stays close to the ground, hopping and scratching through leaf litter in search of seeds and insects. Outside the breeding season, these sparrows often gather in loose, chattering flocks.

Although still considered common, white-throated sparrow populations have declined sharply, with about one in three birds disappearing since 1970. One major threat is collision with buildings during nighttime migration, when artificial lights can draw birds into deadly impacts with windows and towers. Long celebrated in literature and mythology, where sparrows were associated with Aphrodite and Venus, the white-throated sparrow remains both culturally rich and ecologically important, reminding us how closely songbirds are tied to the landscapes we shape.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

Ciao Tutti!

This weekend at Piazza Italian Market, we will taste the Barbera d’Alba 2024 DOC  ($18.95, 13.5% ABV)  from the Albino Rocca winery in the town of Barbaresco, Piemonte. The artistic black and white label is an abstract depiction of Barbaresco’s undulating hills.

Like many winemakers, the story of Albino Rocca began in the 1940’s with the founder,  Giacomo Rocca, who first sold his grapes to producers. Fate intervened in the 1960’s when he inherited prized vineyards in Barbaresco that are now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the “Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato” recognized in 2014.  

The fourth generation of the Rocca family, Angelo Rocca’s daughters Daniela, Monica and Paola, along with Carlo, Paola’s husband, now manage the winery. Their vineyard area encompasses almost 20 hectares that are located in three out of the four productive communes of Barbaresco, Neive, and San Rocco Seno d’Elvio (Alba). In addition to Barbaresco, they grow Nebbiolo and Dolcetto; Chardonnay and Cortese; a Moscato D’Asti and a Grappa. The grapes are grown in four vineyards and the Barbera D’Alba is grown in the half hectare Vineyard Montersino, whose rolling hills were  planted in 1998 at the southern tip of the Barbaresco region. 

Barbera is the known as the everyday red wine of Piemonte and this Barbera is medium bodied, with aromas of fresh red berries, black cherry and plum; flavors of red fruit and spice; lively acidity that balances the soft tannins. An approachable wine befitting its “everyday” status; pair with Piazza’s mushroom risotto, stuffed pasta shells, grilled meats or veggies or roast chicken. 

Come join me Friday from noon to 5:45 or Saturday from noon to 4:45 for a taste of this grape that is quite popular with our customers. The high on Friday (36 degrees)  and Saturday (44 degrees) will be perfetto to reach for this red wine. 

Cin Cin!

Jenn

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Piazza Italian Market is located in the Talbot Town Shopping Center at 218 N. Washington St., suite 23, in Easton, MD

Contributor Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a real estate agent for Meredith Fine Properties. She especially enjoys using her architectural expertise to help buyers envision how they could modify a potential property. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Ciao Tutti!

This weekend we will taste a new Grechetto, the Umbria IGT Grechetto ($22.25, 12.5 % ABV) from the Argillae winery near the town of Allerona in the hills northwest of the famous city of Orvieto. The name “Argillae” is derived from Latin “argilla” for clay, since the area in this part of Umbria has clay-rich soils.

The story of Argillae begins with a wine distillery dating from the early 1900’s that became Italy’s largest. Descendant Giuseppe Bonollo began to seek a suitable area for producing high-quality wines. By the mid 1980’s, he finally found an ideal location in the hills north of Orvieto.

The estate has 15 hectares of vineyards that enjoy an east-west exposure on sunny slopes of the rolling hills. In the early years of Argillae, Bonello’s focus was the international market; since 2015, Italy has been the primary focus, due to the involvement of Guiseppe’s granddaughter Julia.

Giula is now the manager of Argillae. She is an innovator who, under her guidance, two new wines were introduced to Argillae’s portfolio: Primo d’Anfora, a white wine that is vinified in terracotta amphorae and Spumante Brut, a sparkling wine vinified per the Charmat Method.

Grechetto is my second favorite Italian white wine. Argillae’s Grechetto is a single vineyard medium bodied wine and I like its delicate floral bouquet of acacia, crisp citrus flavor from green apple and white stone fruits, good acidity and its subtle mineral finish that is typical for white wines from Umbria. Pair with Piazza’s pasta dishes, grilled chicken or fish entrees and soft to medium aged cheeses.

Come join me on Friday from noon to 5:45 or Sunday from noon to 4:45 for a taste of Umbria, one of my fave regions in Italy.

Cin Cin!

Jenn

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Contributor Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a real estate agent for Meredith Fine Properties. She especially enjoys using her architectural expertise to help buyers envision how they could modify a potential property. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?

The answer to last week’s mystery is the northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, pictured in photo #2.

The northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, is one of the most familiar birds of the Eastern Shore. Unlike many songbirds, cardinals do not migrate, remaining year-round residents. The males’ brilliant red plumage and black facial mask make them instantly recognizable, especially in Winter, while females display warm brown plumage with red accents. Both sexes share a prominent crest and a stout, cone-shaped bill, perfectly suited for cracking seeds.

Cardinals are frequent visitors to backyards, woodland edges, and shrubby habitats. Ground feeders, they find food while hopping on the ground or through shrubs. Seeds make up 90% of their diet, though they will also eat insects such as grasshoppers and beetles. Their clear, whistled songs, sung by both males and females, can be heard throughout the year.

Highly adaptable and closely associated with people, northern cardinals have expanded their range northward over the past century, aided by bird feeders and ornamental plantings. As seed dispersers and insect predators, they play an important ecological role, while their vivid color and bold presence continue to make them a symbol of resilience and beauty in every season.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

Cardinal photograph by Larisa Prezioso.

Talbot County Garden Club invites you to a free lecture to unpack the mystery of coffee… from how it grows to what it takes to create our favorite flavors. Covering the topic from bush to bean to brew will be NOAH KEGLEY, Head Roaster & Partner of Rise Up Coffee. 

Kegley will speak at the Talbot County Free Library in Easton on Tuesday, January 27 beginning at 11 am. Complimentary cups of Rise Up will jumpstart the program as part of the garden club’s 2026 Winter Lecture Series.

Kegley, a popular fixture in our local business community, has been in the coffee business for 15 years. In addition to hearing about his career and the history of the Rise Up Coffee business, attendees will gain a greater appreciation for the arduous journey from coffee bean to coffee cup and the special processing methods that give Rise Up its unique flavor profiles.

As a commodity, coffee has a global importance on both economic and social levels. Addressing these aspects, Kegley will also share Rise Up’s work with The Coffee Trust, an industry non-profit focused on supporting indigenous Central American coffee farmers and their communities.

The garden club’s 2026 Winter Lecture Series continues. Mark your calendar…

Tuesday, February 24
TERESA SPEIGHT, Cottage in the Court
“Community Gardens: Building Community by Gardening and Digging in the Dirt with Your Neighbors!”

Wednesday, March 25
KIRK R. BROWN
“John Bartram Lives…” (An historical presentation on the life of America’s first horticulturist and plant collector)

Tuesday, April 28
CECE HAYDOCK, Landscape Architect
“Edith Wharton and the Villas of Rome”

Questions about these programs should be directed to [email protected]

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About the Talbot County Garden Club

The Talbot County Garden Club is known for its “good and green works” that benefit the Talbot County community. The club was established in 1917 to enhance the natural beauty of the local environment by sharing knowledge of gardening, designing and maintaining civic gardens, supporting civic greening projects, encouraging the conservation of natural resources, and fostering the art of flower arranging. Noteworthy projects include grounds maintenance at the Talbot Historical Society, Talbot County Free Library (Easton), and the Fountain and Children’s Gardens in Idlewild Park; greenery installations for Easton’s Rail Trail, U.S. Post Office and Christ Church; plus an ever-growing number of horticultural outreach activities. There are currently 120 active, associate and honorary members.   

Ciao Tutti! 

I hope everyone had a very happy holiday season and Happy New Year! 

For our first wine tasting in 2026, our selection is the Vino Rosso Gaio Gaio 2022 ($21.50, 15.5% ABV) from the Calabretta Azienda Vinicola in Randazzo, Catania, Sicily. The vineyard lies in the shadow of Mt. Etna, the largest and most active volcano in Italy.  In Greek mythology, Mt. Etna’s towering shape was formed when the Storm Giant Typhon challenged Zeus for control of the heavens. Zeus defeated and imprisoned him under Mt. Etna and the subsequent eruptions were expressions of Typhon’s rage. 

Calabretta was founded by Gaetano Calabretta in the early 1900’s. His great-grandson is the current manager, Massimiliano, who continues his family’s motto to capture “the pleasure of Etna in their glass.” Mt. Etna is blessed with a terroir that is ideal for viniculture: high elevation; black, volcanic soil; blazing sunlight; and the range of diurnal temperature.  The name “Gaio Gaio” is a tribute to Massimiliano’s father‘s nickname meaning “joy”.

The winery’s cellar is on multiple levels, including one that was dug into the volcanic rock that maintains the perfect humidity and temperature for the wines that are aged in large Slavonian oak barrels. Calabretta is located on the north side of Mt. Etna, where they grow three red and two white grapes. Their vineyards evolved organically, resulting in vines that are intermingled with both olive trees and fruit orchards. 

Gaio Gaio is a medium bodied red wine blended from the Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio grapes that results in flavors of ripe strawberry, sour red cherry, aromatic herbs,  earthy minerality and spicy undertones. It can also be served lightly chilled. Come join me Friday from noon to 5:45 or Saturday from noon to 4:45 to taste this wine we are considering for our collection. 

Cin Cin!

Jenn 

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Piazza Italian Market is an authentic italian market located in Talbot Town Shopping Center in historic downtown Easton.

Contributor Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a real estate agent for Meredith Fine Properties. She especially enjoys using her architectural expertise to help buyers envision how they could modify a potential property. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess who is pictured in photo #1?

The answer to last week’s mystery is winterberry, Ilex verticillata, pictured in photo #2.

Winterberry, Ilex verticillata, is best known for the bright red fruits that cling to its bare branches through Fall and Winter. Despite the name, these colorful structures aren’t berries at all: they’re drupes, the same type of fruit that includes cherries, peaches, olives, and plums. Each drupe consists of a fleshy outer layer surrounding a hard, stone-like “nutlet” that contains one or two smooth seeds.

After hard frosts, the outer flesh becomes especially sugary, making winterberry drupes a high-energy food source for birds and wildlife when little else is available. While highly valuable to animals, the fruits are poisonous to humans. The tough seed coat protects the seeds from damage and digestion, allowing them to pass through birds intact and be deposited elsewhere, helping the plant spread naturally.

By holding onto its fruit long after leaves have dropped, winterberry plays a critical role in Winter ecosystems. Its glowing drupes provide both nourishment and visual interest at a time of year when food — and color — are otherwise scarce, making it one of the most important native shrubs for cold-season wildlife support.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

Bird photograph by Larisa Prezioso.

Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?

The answer to last week’s mystery is the green heron, Butorides virescens, pictured in photo #2.

The green heron, Butorides virescens, is a small, stocky heron found throughout the eastern United States and along the West Coast. It breeds widely across Maryland, often perching hunched on low branches above wetlands. Up close, its greenish back, chestnut-striped neck, and yellow legs give it a striking look, though in flight its slow wingbeats and tailless, crowlike silhouette make it easy to overlook. Its sharp “skeow!”” call often announces it before you ever see it.

Green herons are famous for their intelligence, as well as for being one of the few bird species known to use tools. They drop feathers, insects, or even discarded bread into the water to lure fish within striking distance of their dagger-like bill. One determined bird was documented dropping its bait more than two dozen times until a fish finally took it. Their diet is diverse: fish, crustaceans, spiders, snails, amphibians, reptiles, and even rodents, and they will dive headfirst into deeper water when necessary. Green herons can be spotted at the Arboretum wetland from time to time.

During breeding season, pairs nest along both freshwater and coastal habitats, sometimes surprisingly far — up to half a mile — from water. They raise three to five chicks, which can climb trees at just a week or two old using their wings and beaks. Although still considered common, green heron populations have declined by more than 50% since the 1960s, reminding us how much these clever wetland hunters rely on healthy aquatic ecosystems.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

Ciao Tutti!

As the holiday song says, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, for at Piazza Italian Market this weekend, we will be offering three tastings for your consideration to accompany your holiday feasts. For a bubbly, we offer the Bosco Di Gica Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Sparkling Wine Brut DOCG 2025 ($27.75, ABV 11%) from the Adami vineyard in Colbertaldo di Vidor, Valdobbiadene, Italy. For a white wine, we offer the Colli Tortonesi DOC “Timorasso” 2023 from the La Spinetta winery in Castagnole Delle Lanze near Asti in Piemonte. For the red wine, we offer the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2019 ($75.95,14% ABV) from Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Casato Prime Donne winery in Montalcino. 

Bosco Di Gica: What is a holiday without a bubbly? “Bosco di Gica” translates as “ancient forest” in homage to the historic site of the winemaker’s family. The winery was founded in the 1920’s by Adele Adami when he bought the natural amphitheater shaped vineyard from Count Balbi Valier and the winery is now managed by the third generation of Armando and Franco.

Bosco Di Gica’s predominant grape is Glera, with a small (3-7%) of Chardonnay and is vinified using the Charmat Method, in which the second fermentation process occurs in a stainless steel tank instead of the bottle. This  new Prosecco for Piazza has become quite popular for its fresh, crisp character, notes of orchard fruit (apple, peach) and white flowers (acacia, wisteria)  with a savory, mineral finish. 

Colli Tortonese DOC Timoresso: This wine’s distinctive label depicting the Durer print of a rhinoceros will be quite familiar to Piazza devotees of the winery’s Sangiovese and Rose’ in Piazza’s collection. The winery was founded by Giuseppe and Lidia Rivetti in the 1960’s and their children share management of the winery that is located in the hills of Piemonte.

Timorasso is an ancient indigenous grape of Piemonte with delicate citrus and floral notes, great structure and a long, vibrant finish. Timorasso is considered to be one of Italy’s unique and interesting white wines; legend has it that Leonardo di Vinci was a fan. When he attended Isabella di Aragona’s wedding, his gifts to her were Montebore cheese and a bottle of Timorasso wine, which was then considered to be the perfect pairing for the cheese. 

Donatella Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino DOCG: Winemaker Donatella founded her two wineries, Casato Prime Donne and Fattoria del Colle in 2000 on land that had been in her family since the 16th century. One of her grandfathers was a pioneer in the Montalcino denomination and she learned his lessons well. She quickly rose to prominence and added the Fattoria del Colle Country Inn with a restaurant, cooking school, gardens and a fitness center. Her honors include being awarded the 2003 Oscar Bibenda Prize for wine producers, followed by the International Vinitaly award in 2012.   

Her Casato Prime Donne is the first Italian winery to be staffed entirely by women and has earned international fame. It is devoted solely to the production of Brunello with 17 of the 40 hectares planted with Sangiovese for the production and aging of both Rosso and Brunello di Montalcino wines. 

Brunello is my choice for Christmas so I could rhapsodize about Brunello ad nauseum! If you haven’t yet tasted it, get ready for a taste sensation of fruits (blackberry, black cherry, plum and raspberry), floral notes (cloves, vanilla, violets) with firm tannins and a full body-nectar for the gods!

Come join me for our special Holiday Tasting on Friday from noon to 5:45 and Saturday from noon to 4:45

Cin Cin!

Jenn

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Piazza Italian Market is located in the Talbot Town Shopping Center at 218 N. Washington St., suite 23, in Easton, MD

Contributor Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a real estate agent for Meredith Fine Properties. She especially enjoys using her architectural expertise to help buyers envision how they could modify a potential property. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?

The answer to last week’s mystery is the common persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, pictured in photo #2.

The common persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, is a slow-growing native tree found across the central and eastern United States, from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas. In Fall, its walnut-sized orange fruits begin to appear—often overlooked on the small, bare-branched trees as showier foliage steals the spotlight. Unripe persimmons are famously astringent, but once softened by frost or season, the ripe fruit becomes a sweet, custard-like treat.

Persimmon thrives in full sun to partial shade and grows best in moist, well-drained sandy soils, especially in bottomlands, though it tolerates heat, drought, poor soils, and wind. Trees are dioecious, requiring both male and female plants for fruit production, and they take several years to mature; the best yields come from trees 25–50 years old. One of the tree’s most distinctive features is its thick, dark gray “alligator bark,” divided into blocky plates, paired with fall foliage that ranges from yellow to brilliant red.

Beyond its beauty, persimmon is valuable to both people and wildlife. Its fruit feeds a variety of animals in Winter, and the tree serves as a host plant for several moth species, including the luna moth. Its hard wood has famously been used for golf club heads and billiard cues, and the fruit pulp appears in cakes, breads, and ice creams. Even its dried leaves can be brewed into tea. Folklore adds one more charm: what you see when splitting a seed is said to predict winter weather—spoons for snow, knives for bitter cold, and forks for a mild season.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.