This morning when I woke up at Nora’s, I was welcomed with an espresso and breakfast pastry. I knew this hospitality, along with the convenience of a walking talking translator, probably wasn’t going to last for long. This was a good thing though and I knew that what was ahead of me was going to make me a better person. I was looking forward to learning so much and was excited to venture on this “journey of a lifetime.” I Thought I expected what was to come, but I had no idea what I was about to get myself into. No one was kidding when they said I would be in the middle of nowhere. We drove about an hour and a half from Nora’s home town. I was almost car sick since about an hour of it was up an extremely windy road, far into the countryside. On the way, we chatted about Sicily and Nora told me a few stories, while her brother proceeded to tell me that I was basically about to put myself through something that a nun would do right before she went into the monastery, some kind of penance, and that after these few months I would be “St. Morgana.” Nice right. Finally we passed through the town of Vallelunga, which is about 10 min outside of the Regaleali vineyards. Although I didn’t get a full tour, I couldn’t picture myself spending much time here since it didn’t seem like there was anything to do. When we arrived at the vineyards, I realized exactly how ginormous this place is. The vineyards seem almost endless as they roll up and down the beautiful hills.
First, I met the director of the winery and was pleased he spoke a few words of broken English. I was not as pleased with the first words that came from his mouth though, “Poor Morgan.” So at this point it seems like everyone feels bad for me and doesn’t seem to understand why I, the American who barely speaks Italian at this point, would come to this remote place in Sicily for anything longer than a short visit. But nonetheless, I am happy to be here and I know that I am going to benefit from this experience, even though it won’t be a piece of cake.
Next, I met the director's wife and the winemaker, Laura, who is really friendly and spunky. She doesn’t walk but rather trots around the winery with her glass, tasking samples of juice from different tanks. On her way, she showed me around and introduced me to everyone who works in the winery. I met a 26 year old winemaker named Lisa who’s assisting Laura and currently working her 9th harvest. Previous ones included New Zealand, Chile and all over Italy. She is smart and really nice. I will be shadowing her for the day and we got right to work. Apparently I will not be working in the fields like I thought, probably just in the winery but there will be pleanty for me to do. There are also two other male interns here now and two more arriving tomorrow. It was almost time for lunch at that point, and it was then when I realized that I would not be living on the winery after all. We would all be staying in an apartment in that little village of Vallelunga. I guess I will be spending some time there after all!
First, I met the director of the winery and was pleased he spoke a few words of broken English. I was not as pleased with the first words that came from his mouth though, “Poor Morgan.” So at this point it seems like everyone feels bad for me and doesn’t seem to understand why I, the American who barely speaks Italian at this point, would come to this remote place in Sicily for anything longer than a short visit. But nonetheless, I am happy to be here and I know that I am going to benefit from this experience, even though it won’t be a piece of cake.
Next, I met the director's wife and the winemaker, Laura, who is really friendly and spunky. She doesn’t walk but rather trots around the winery with her glass, tasking samples of juice from different tanks. On her way, she showed me around and introduced me to everyone who works in the winery. I met a 26 year old winemaker named Lisa who’s assisting Laura and currently working her 9th harvest. Previous ones included New Zealand, Chile and all over Italy. She is smart and really nice. I will be shadowing her for the day and we got right to work. Apparently I will not be working in the fields like I thought, probably just in the winery but there will be pleanty for me to do. There are also two other male interns here now and two more arriving tomorrow. It was almost time for lunch at that point, and it was then when I realized that I would not be living on the winery after all. We would all be staying in an apartment in that little village of Vallelunga. I guess I will be spending some time there after all!
We drove into town where we would make lunch (surprisingly, the BOYS cooked). I share a room with Lisa and we all share a bathroom. Not the most ideal circumstances but actually pretty comfortable. It reminds me of living in Pi Phi a little bit. Except my bed is half the size and probably about 100 years old cause it is nice and bouncy…just the way I like it. The towel that was folded on my bed was not so appealing though. It was also about 100 years old and feels more like an extra large piece of sandpaper than a towel. So, I have resorted to using my robe as a towel for now.
Lisa has done everything possible to make me comfortable here and I am learning a lot from her (and she loves that she can practice her English with me). I think we will be good friends. After Lunch we returned to the winery. Our first task was to bottle juice from 16 different samples of vine cuttings and take it to the lab for them to conclude the acidity level, amount of sugar, and so on to determine if /when the grapes would be ready to be picked (I hope I get to work in the lab sometime while I am here. Those stupid O-Chem classes might actually come in handy!) Neways the best part about this is that the method of retrieving the juice is by…wait for it…your feet! Yup, you put on a pair of rainboot-looking shoes and smoosh the bunches of grapes over a large sifter to separate the seeds and skins from the juice that is collected in bucket below. Of course the bees are attracted to this and are everywhere. I have already gotten used to it and don't even flinch anymore when they land on my hand. After taking the samples to the lab, we went to the 5 steel tanks that are full with juice so far and calculated the density and temperature of each one to make sure that fermentation is on the right track. Most of the juice is chardonnay right now that will be used for their sparkling wine. Let the work begin!
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