The first time I went to Italy, I was stunned by the vegetables. I felt as though my taste buds had just been vaulted from dull black-and-white into vibrant Technicolor.

What was it that led to such flavor? Cooking technique was certainly part of the story. Twenty years ago, when Americans were boiling vegetables to within an inch of their lives, the Italians were using a gentler hand, cooking them just until they were (like pasta) al dente.

There was also a more poignant reason. Italy was made up, as it still is, of a million tiny vegetable gardens. These gardens, tended by hand, not only gave produce with superior flavors, but they also gave produce that tasted of a place. Italians knew where the most intense basil grew, where the tomatoes ripened best, where the cauliflower was most flavorful.

The Italians thought about wine the same way they thought about vegetables. The reason has to do (like gardens) with place. The same grape planted in two places produces wines that are remarkably different in flavor and personality. In this way, tasting a wine becomes, well, tasting a place. Nothing is more expressive of the ground where it was born than wine -- whether that ground is in Tuscany or Texas.

Now for some practical veggie advice. Every now and then, I come across the notion that wine does not go with vegetables. This is silly. If anything, wine and vegetables were made for each other.

Some favorite combinations:

Asparagus with Sauvignon Blanc, which is fresh and herbal and underscores the flavors of asparagus.

Grilled vegetables with Zinfandel. Nothing offsets the sweet caramelized char of grilled vegetables better than the big berry flavors of Zinfandel.

Corn and corn puddings with Chardonnay. The sweet creaminess of corn dovetails with a well-balanced Chardonnay.

Mushrooms and Pinot Noir. I could probably live on these two for a year. The deep earthiness of sauteed mushrooms is amazing when you're sipping an earthy Pinot.

Salad. The idea that salad doesn't go well with wine probably stems from a time in Europe when salads were served after the meal, tossed with a little olive oil and a lot of vinegar (to aid digestion). Today, we use less vinegar overall, and there are more foods in our salads -- everything from goat cheese to chicken. So wine works great with them. A personal favorite: Asian noodle or Chinese chicken salad with Riesling.