Wine, wine and and a visit to the coast

Ok just to get things out in the open...the past few weeks have been pretty darn epic! Its hard to know where to start. We here goes...
Three weeks ago we headed to Multilpuciano in southern Italy to visit a small brewery there. Fantastic places with tasty brews, Their brewery tour was walking into a room and talking as the brewery was pretty much a large garage. They had an interesting beer that had a bunch of local ingredients and another one was aged with brunello (a tuscan wine). That night we headed to some hot spring pools nearby. The next day I woke up early and went up to Florence with our meat guy here to help sell some of our salumi products at an agrarian festival in the city. It was awesome, albeit very long. I maned the register which actually worked out well as I could practice my italian numbers.

My past work weeks have been filled with preparing for the grape harvest, doing more legna, trimming hedges, and a bunch of other random stuff for sure. But two weeks ago we harvested all of the grapes throughout the week. It is an intense, exhausting process but a bunch of fun because it is really 'all hands on deck' as everyone from that can work the harvest does. Very sticky hands, tons of bees and grape throwing are some of things I am going to remember most.

Then some adventures began...we visited two wineries last Friday, one conventional, one biodynamic. The biodynamic one was true eye-opening...one of my best experiences here. The whole process was utterly fascinating (no additives/sulfites whatsoever...and only natural yeasts from the skins were used). The name of it was Colombaia. I could go on and on about this place. The next day we ventured into Umbria (right east of Tuscany) to visit yet another winery (Paolo Bea) in Montefalco. Coming here this was the only place I had on my docket to visit and it truly lived up to the expectations. He is produces some cult wines that have a large following in the states. Again he is a natural winemaker and he makes wines mostly made with the local sagrantino grape. Here I tried probably the best wine of my life a 2003 Sagrantino Passito (a sweet wine) Then I headed south with a few from the program and visited Naples and the Amalfi Coast. We got to see the bustling parts of Naples, have great pizza, drive on the Amalfi coast and, yes, visit a local winery (Feudi di San Gregorio) It was great to have coastal weather and just get to see a completely different part of Italy.

>>> I am reading this post a few days after writing it (as I accidentally did not post it when I wrote it) and I feel I need to add a bit of perspective on these experiences. Understanding 'why' these places and people had an impact on me is almost more important than the aesthetic beauty of the experiences. The common thread in the winery visits and in much of the labor I do on the farm is that they are united in simplicity. The simplest way possible (albeit most difficult at times) will bring about something that is more beautiful and wonderful than complicated processes. The natural winemakers were somewhat prophetic and fiercely apologetic about the methods which they used. Less is more. During the grape harvest, while it would have been easier with a bunch of machinery, the people to people interactions one has whilst harvest grapes is and will be a solid memory from my time at Spannocchia. The 'hands on' nature of crushing and processing the grapes we are doing in the cantina again is so simple yet wonderful. I look back at the producers we have visited, the food we have tried, the work we have done and the simplicity and astounding beauty of it all is, as the cliche goes, a memory I will never forget. Hard to believe I will be back home in less than a month. I look forward to seeing all!

Today I am kinda taking it easy as I had a little spill yesterday while I was cleaning a tank in the cantina. All is well though! Just banged up my big toe so I'm walking quite tenderly. Maybe some reading and a nap now :)

Ciao, a dopo!

Ok finally another update!

Well, life here has been going great first and foremost. A bunch of work, a ton of information equals tiring yet fulfilling days. Most of my days have been lifting wood, wood and more wood, trimming hedges (i have learned to despise blackberry bushes), pruning olive trees and bottling/labeling wine. All of these have been, like i said, tiring at times but in the end the monotony has almost slowed me down made me realize that farm work at its core is a bunch of small (at time boring and hard) tasks that lead to a very beautiful goal. You can take that and make a schmaltzy life application, but I will let it be. Working on a farm is not some idealized, perfect endeavor...it is difficult and i have a chance to get a taste (for sure, only a taste) of what is like.

My side trips have been fun for sure! Last weekend we headed to Panzano in Chianti. Backup...the week before we went to Volterra..an old walled Etruscan city. Fascinating, charming, but somewhat nostalgic at times. Streets that make you feel as if you are walking in a movie or a book. Of course the day ended tasting some delicious, ethereal wine (Montevertine is a producer worth checking out). Ok, this past weekend. Panzano was a wonderful city as well, but we were not able to see much of it as we were on a mission to see the butcher there. Dario Cecchini. He is one of the most famous butchers period and definitely the most notorious in Italy. Bill Buford apprenticed with him as recorded in Heat. We had a stellar meal there at his restaurant Mac Dario (pun intended). Therefore we were served a bun-less hamburger...which was without a doubt the best hamburger i have ever had. After many drinks and 'digestivos' (the italians excuse for having after meal drinks is saying they are 'good for digesting'...i'll buy it:) Then we meandered over to a winery, Le Cinciole (again worth checking out), and it was pretty perfect as well. I organized this winery trip for our group and it was a stab in the dark of sorts but totally worth it. We got to try their whole spectrum of wines and it truly affirmed their identity as an under-the-radar, mind-blowing Chianti Classico producer. Chianti is an easy region to hate (b/c of a number of reasons) but they truly put out wines that embraced terroir and focused on the potential and perfumed nature of sangiovese. Anyway, I digress.

This weekend's adventures involve a trip to Multilpuciano to visit a brewery there and to see another old Tuscan town.

Oh and by the way we are harvesting the grapes next week. No big deal. Ok it is.

here is a short list of things i have learned here this past week (in NO way all inclusive):
1) in the morning hearing my supervisor mention the word 'legna' means i will be tossing wood around all day (it is italian for wood)
2) make sure you put water in the pot when making coffee on the stove (you think i should have learned by now)
3) Salami Dolce is one of the best things ever (its a chocolate fridge cake dessert)... phenomenally delicious and contrary to the name, no meat
4) learning languages is difficult. Enough said.
5) I was the best in class at making orecchiette! its a awesome pasta btw.

Ok until next time! Ciao. Hope all of you are well!

Week One on the Farm!

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to send a quick update before dinner and some wine on the terrace (can't miss that!)...

The week has been great kinda getting into the swing of things here on the farm. For the most part our days are full of various different work activities with some afternoons being 'informational'. We have started language lessons although I am very intimidated still by the language. This past few days have been filled with lifting logs (a lot of logs), some pruning of the vines getting them ready for harvest in a month or month and a half, and some bottling of last years wine in the cantina. It has been great switching from task to task as a get a bit of ADD when stuck doing the same thing. Tomorrow we have the day off and are going to a artisanal, small pasta maker in Greve (Chianti) and a vineyard in the afternoon. I know kinda ridiculous. I will take notes for sure, as my first attempt awhile back at homemade pasta was a pretty epic failure.

All in all the people here are great. The people in the program, while all different, have interesting points of connection...passions, past jobs, etc.

Highlights this week:
1) Last night's dinner which included (all homemade of course):
Bruschetta
Lasagna
Venison braised with chocolate and pine nuts (crazy right?)
Coffee Gelato! - Delicious
Limoncello

2) Trail runs around Spannocchia

3) Ongoing sustainable food/gastronomic conversations and debates

4) Slowly finding my rhythm here

Anyway, just wanted to toss out a quick update! All is well over here!
Forgive the bad grammar and misspellings as I am not proofing this as I am paying by minute :/

More later...I miss you all and can't wait to touch base as I can!

Day One...check

Greetings from Siena!

I have officially one day under my belt over here. In summation: got here around midday local time after the gautlet of international travel (long flights, not much sleep, a lot of adrenaline). I flew into Florence grabbed my bag and then on my way out an intimidating Italian police officer stopped me and asked me a bunch of questions to which i probably only replied completely honestly to one: what's your nationality. The others I kinda stretched the truth as to not raise any other unwelcome questions.

Thankfully on the bus into Florence I met a girl that is in my program as I saw her looking over the same info sheets I had. Hopped on the bus to Siena, fumbled our way to the hostel and slowly met the other interns as they trickled into the city. Great group of folks btw.

Then we headed out to dinner and the gastronomic endeavors began.
Suffice it to say I am no longer a vegetarian. 5 animals, one meal, no joke. Rabbit, wild boar, chicken liver pate, beef livers, salami and other cured meats. My stomach is a bit thrown off course right now...but the vernaccia, chianti and vin santo all helped in the digestion :) It was worth it and the conversation around the table was truly amazing, so much food talk, as these other folks are very knowledgable in their own ways about a section of the food world (anything from butchery, behind the scenes in the restaurant, commercial agriculture, etc). Eating meat is something I will always have a sort of uneasiness about especially in the states and, in general, commercially but, 'when in Rome' (or Siena)...

After dinner we walked the city and enjoyed the cool night air (as well as some awesomely bad Italian impressions of the beach boys)

Today will probably include more sightseeing, then we head out to the farm this afternoon. Hopefully this is one update of many sporadic ones... Not sure about the whole Internet situation at the farm... But thankfully the lady at the hostel let me use it here.

tap to edit

Leaving tomorrow!

I board a plane for Italy in less than 24 hours! Still trying to work on all of the logistical stuff and hopefully will have everything in line for tomorrow. For those who I have not talk about this with I will explain a bit of what I will be doing over the next 3 months. I, along with 7 other interns, will be working on the Spannocchia farm in central Italy. It is both an educational program as well as a, well, a 'work for your keep' program. In other words, during most days I will be performing various tasks on the farm where needed(in the vineyard and gardens, with animals, etc.) and also being taught different crafts along the way. This farm is a beacon of sorts in regards to sustainable farming: people travel here to learn, be taught in older ways of producing food and food traditions. They truly focus on be a self-sufficient operation, in that, what the farm produces sustains life for the people staying there. Spannocchia is also a small hotel and conference center which allows different international folks to and take a peak at what is going on here. Anyway, I'm not sure exactly what things are going to look like in Italy as I'm, in fact, still in Texas now, but hopefully I can update every so often letting family and friends in on what I am doing. Feel free to check out Spannocchia's website for more info: http://www.spannocchia.org/

Now back to packing!