Let the work begin!

8.17.2009

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 for 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 vineyard director and was pleased he spoke a few words of broken English. I was not as pleased with the 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 from America 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 winemaker, Laura, who is really nice and extra spunky. She doesn’t walk but rather trots around the winery with her glass, tasking samples of juice from different tanks. She showed me around, introducing me to everyone who works in the winery. Then it was right to work. I met the 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. 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!

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 coolest 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. 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. Most is chardonnay right now that will be used for their sparkling wine. Let the work begin!