Life on the Vine
In Tuscany, we live in a tiny borgo, a small hamlet, surrounded 360 degrees by vines. We are in the heart of Chianti Classico Wine Region, where some of the best wines of Italy (and we think in the world) are produced. Living amongst these wines, we are connected to the land, the pace of season, and have a keen understanding of how Mother Nature ultimately controls the subtly of life.
Being from California, and living a stone’s throw from Napa and Sonoma Valleys, terms like terrior, appellation, malolactic fermentation, phenolic compounds (or simpler, tannins), oxidation, barrique, cru, and so on, are rooted in our vocabulary. Selecting the perfect wine, and slowly enjoying its labor, is a lifestyle as much as it is a passion for us.
It should come as no surprise that we feel very much at home enveloped by endless rows of sangiovese grape vines. In the states, we simply enjoyed wine. Now we live it.
On a daily basis, we walk the long rows of shiny silver rails glistening in the sun. No matter the season, the metal wire stretching and pulling over hills and valleys are the one constant in all seasons. We watch as the vines awaken from their winter slumber and move through their trajectory to wine.
From the initial burst of bud break, the landscape explodes with the most brilliant chartreuse green, new vines shooting in all directions to reach the sun. The birth of the tiniest of berries tucked in the shade of the widening leaves. Chatty workers arrive to tame the unconstrained leafy vines to their trusty wire foundations in order to discipline their growth in hopes to provide optimal fruit set. The tractors slowly and carefully maneuver in between the fragile fruit rows, manicuring the rocky clay soil to create fissures for rain water to reach the mature roots and to churn up minerals. Round berries turning various shades during veraison, or Invaiatura in Italian, indicate we are coming into the ‘home stretch’. Electrical fencing is installed and activated around the vines’ permitters to protect the upcoming vintage. Sugars gingerly gather inside these tiny round vessels plumping them as they accumulate.
We have missed our vines and are always excited to see them freed from their ‘quarantine’ and their next phase of becoming wine. Harvest or la vendemmia arrives under bluebird skies and crisp cool morning air. The race to crush is on across our region. Harvest crews flick the fruit off the vine and into red buckets, then dumped into tractor trailers to de-stem and venture on at the winery. With each day, with each plot of vineyard, we send silent wishes to our fruity friends that they enjoy their next life journey. May they obey their winemakers’ wishes and do all the ‘malolactic-fermenty things’ in steel tanks (to drop in some of my specially personalized jargon) followed by a nice long chillax in various oak barrels and barrique to further define their character. The vines are trimmed down and the empty shiny silver wires twinkle again in the sun without the interference of vegetation. Ready for new life after a long dormant winter.
We are always happy to be reacquainted with our fruit when their vintage is released (hopefully with fanfare) in graphically-pleasing labels, the hard-fought (and earned) DOCG label and of course, our Gallo Nero adhered to their shiny bottles.
Yes, we enjoy wine. But now we live amongst the vines and share the backstory of wine more intimately. To see the wine making journey in such close detail, to witness Mother Nature’s guidance, to discuss cultivation decisions with our winemaker friends from vine to bottle, and to taste the ‘final product’ is appreciation on an incredibly deep level. The intricate balance of uncontrollable factors and controlled strategy is metaphor for so much in life.
With ‘life on the vine’, we not only enjoy wine in a more meaningful way; we have learned life lessons from our precious vines: grow where you are planted, reach for the sun, dig deep to anchor your roots and find your wellspring, yield to that which you can not control, follow the guidance of those in ‘the know’ to become your best self and allow time to chillax in a cool dark place until you are ready to shine. And maybe most importantly, there is always an opportunity to start over. Hopefully with fanfare.
A video created in 2020 for our friends at Primi Restaurant, Durango, Colorado.
If would like to ‘live amongst the vines’ in Tuscany, we are happy to rent you a room or an apartment. Furthermore, we welcome the opportunity to build personalized Tuscany wine itineraries with our wine owner friends, wine makers, winery colleagues and private tour drivers for a most memorable Tuscany Wine Vacation with locals. Contact us today at Bella Vita Vacations or The Conciergist .
