Un Giorno nella Vigna

They say that you learn something new every day… and then there are those days when you learn enough for the month… Today I think I learnt enough to not go to uni for a week… does uni work that way??

It all came about because a friend of Lorenzo’s dad, Valerio, is good friends with Bernardo, the manager of Colle Bereto, (which is an incredible, and reasonably small winery near Radda in Chianti) and thought that considering the viticulture and oenology course I just started, I would benefit from a tour at Colle Bereto. So Valerio called Bernardo and organised for Lorenzo and I to go down to Radda when the harvest began to see how it all works…

Neither Lorenzo or I had any idea what the day would actually bring, but I have to say it way surpassed my expectations (which pretty much involved a day of picking grapes)!
We arrived at the grand stone … house? Castle? Mansion? on the hill with an incredible view of rolling green vineyards leading up to Radda and the nearly restored monastery (built in 1000).

We were greeted by Bernardo who joined us into an impromptu tour of the cellar and wine making facilities with a group of 4 Americans  who arrived at the same time as us.

 

 

 

 

  

   

 

   

 

When the Americans then moved on to their wine tasting and we moved on to the vineyards with a group of  Italians, who work at a bar in the centre of Florence (also called Colle Bereto) owned by the same company as the vineyard, and had been invited by Bernardo to do pretty much the same thing as us.

So all together in the Jeep we headed down into the vines do some San Giovese grape picking for an hour or so. I would say more grape eating than picking on my behalf… but the vines were clean when I was finished, so I think I did a good job. For anyone who hasn’t been lucky enough to eat San Giovese grapes from the vine- they are small, black, sweet and juicy grapes and are really, really good!

 

Majority of the vines at Colle Bereto are San Giovese, of which they have 2 or 3 varieties, then the rest of their land is made up with a section of Pino Nero, a section of Colorino and a section of Malvasia. Their main production is Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Reserva, but also make some other fantastic wines…

At the end of our extremely strenuous hour of labour, we made our way back up to the house where lunch was ready and waiting. Antipasto (cheese, prosciutto, crostini and mortadella) with a 2005 vintage of their sparkling wine (made with their Colorino grapes), followed by pasta (2 different sauces) followed by a mixed grill (pork steaks, sausage, stuffed rolled chicken and roast potatoes) accompanied by 2009 Chianti Classico, followed by gelato, followed by biscotti and chocolates, along with Vin Santo (which is an amazing intense Italian dessert wine- which they don’t sell… they only make a really small batch every year for themselves and their guests, using their Malvasia grapes)  followed by coffee and a really big stomach ache. Oh when will I ever learn that my stomach is NOT bottomless!

So with overfull stomachs the next logical step is to play a game of soccer together in the afternoon sun… fun, but uncomfortable!! After which it was time to thank our hosts and head back to Florence.

Bernardo was a fantastic host and guide and was able to answer every question I had about the wines, from the growing, to the harvesting, the fermentation and of course the drinking. A really good experience and a fantastic contact to have for a budding oenologist!

Procrastination time

As much as I told everyone that starting uni would mean more emails and more blog posts as I would have more procrastination time... it's not true, I lied. Unlike when I was at school and it was "cool" not to know what was going on in maths, now it just means that I will fail and waste money if I don't know what's going on... so procrastination at the moment is only around 5% (which is clearly filled with sourcing comfort food).

I am 2 weeks into my course (well... that is kind of cheating because we don't start physics until next week... so these two weeks have just been Monday to Wednesday, maths and chemistry. But to make myself feel better let's make it a neat 2 weeks) and I am struggling to remember what I did in high school maths...the answer to that question is probably not much, which is making it a whole lot of fun trying to figure out post high school math equations, but I'm getting there slowly. Chemistry on the other hand is a subject I have never taken, so I guess on the up side I don't have to try to remember that one... however I am increasingly wondering why I thought it was a good idea to take a science based course, over 6 years after finishing school, in another language!!

Luckily the teachers so far are understanding and happy to help (they also speak english which might come in handy at some point!) which should make life a little easier! But for now, blog post will probably be few and far between (how strange you say, normally I am so on top of updating this page!? I know, I know).

I can't say I have much news other than starting uni. We have been adding a few touches to the apartment... and we finally have a wardrobe!! I guess that's big news (considering I have been harping on about getting it for a good 3 weeks). The bedroom now looks like the fair is coming to town and the kitchen has gained a colour, but we like it, so stop judging us and our multicoloured house!!

So even if there are lots of finishing touches to be added, finally the house has all the essentials, and I must admit it has turned out to be a really cute little house. I even have a veggie garden!! I can't guarentee we will be eating out of this garden any time soon, but it's pretty cute all the same!!

Almost there!!

OMG IT'S NEARLY FINISHED!!!!!!!!!
So the bed and couch have arrived, the kitchen is now connected and ready to use (apart from the fact they messed up and sent 2 white cupboard doors... so they will change), the kitchen cupboards are full of crockery (from Nonna... who wouldnt let us leave until we had pretty well robbed her of all the plates she doesn't use), the curtains are up and today we filled the hole separating our apartment from Lorenzo's parents house with insulation and an sheet of iron (and in the next few days will be covered with a wardrobe)... umm Party???? Our only issue is that the mattrass will be another week and a half... but that's why we bought a sofa bed right?

Lorenzo started it when he chose a purple kitchen, I continued it by buying a pink and purple Mokka (sitting on the bench next to the white cupbords) and then Lorenzo's mum topped it off by buying a pink flowing plant and a pink dust pan..........  I think we need to invest in some new colours!! (cute though right? We can see whose kitchen this is!! haha)

Ready for a dinner party- thanks Nonna!

I know what you're thinking, and yes, keeping this couch white IS going to be a challenge, but look how pretty and white it is!!.. for now.

Thank god for under-bed storage!!

 

These little bed side tables belonged to Lorenzo's Nonna's Nonna, you do the maths!

Hole is filled!!

 

Oh another minor thing that the apartment is missing are doors. We have a front door, but are yet to get the bathroom or bedroom door. Open living style!

 

Casetta Part II

As promised, here is the current progress of our little house... We're getting there! Since the last lot of photos we've filled in, sanded and painted the walls, cleaned and treated the terracotta floor, put in the dividing wall between bedroom and lounge, painted our little bathroom niche and layed the wood flooring in the 'kitchen area'... what do you think?!?

 

Riccardo (our friendly know-how man) painting our 'niche' with venetian style plaster.

Bathroom equipped with crazy.

The 'men' at work. Who knew terracotta required so much work!? Alkaline wash overnight, scubbed in and washed twice, acid scrubbed in, rinsed and dried, anti-stain chemical rubbed in and dried then two coats of varnish to finish...!!

 

Presenting our living room! How nice is that floor!

 

Wooden flooring to cover the kitchen/entry area.

Tomorrow arrive our new couch and bed!! Yipee!! Pity the electrition hasn't come yet and we have no lights!

In other news, I had my Italian entry test yesterday, which if I were to fail would mean the end of my visa... Luckily for me I passed... Yet I think even my dad and his 2 words of spanish would have been fine. They passed all 6 of us, even the 2 students who didn't know how to respond to any of the questions they asked during the interview... suggesting they partake in a basic italian course before the start of uni...

So now that stress is off my shoulders I'm free as a fiddle until the 24th September, when I start uni.

La Casetta

Buongiorno a tutti! Good to see nothing has changed in relation to me and my slackness in writing posts. Same discourse as last year though... Nothing is really happening that is blog worthy, I don't want to put you to sleep!

I haven't blogged about the work on our little appartment yet because I was waiting for it to be finished... But alas I have decided that considering I have one thing going on at the moment, I might as well milk it for all it's worth!

These are the photos I took in the early days of the renovations, unfortunately I don't have any photos from before we started.

 

In this first photo you can see the remaining proof of the wall the wall that was demolished (originally dividing the office and workshop from the lounge room) to create space for our kitchen.

 

On the back wall, the smaller of the two doors is a new hole, and will become the door to our bathroom - the foundations above that door are too important to hack into so that's as high as the door can be... no extra tall people allowed!! At the moment, the other, normal sized door leads to Lorenzo's parents part of the house, which will soon be closed in with a 90kg sheet of iron (bolted to the wall on the parents side), insulation and a set of shelves (because of building rules and regulations the house can't officially be separated, so in theory the house can be reunited if necessary)

 This room will eventually become the kitchen and lounge room, with the door on the side wall being our front door. It's a bit hard to tell yet, but I think it's going to be really cute!!

Life "Pre-Uni"

Last week, in order to escape the dust and noise of the renovations, I travelled to Elba Island (which you may remember from a post last year) where I was lucky enough to stay with some friends of Lorenzo's cousins for a few nights.
I have to admit that it is a pretty hard life living on an Italian island... you have to wake up late, have breakfast, head to the beach, have a swim, have some  pizza on the beach, have a nap in the sun... have another swim, have a coffee, go home- shower and change... maybe another nap- head to a bar to have aperitivo, seafood dinner, out for drinks, stay out late, get to bed late... then start the process again.
You all sit there thinking it's so easy...

Considering there's been next to no rain in Italy for the last couple of months, needless to say I was graced with 4 days of hot, beautiful weather, coupled with crystal clear, blue water. Just stunning! Unlike Australian beaches, most of the beaches at Elba have stones rather than sand and have no waves so the water is placid and clear- perfect for snokling and exploring. To get to some of the nicer beaches you often have to 'treck' down the hillside, through shrubbery and dirt patches, which, when you reach the beach all hot and sweaty, makes it all the more worth it!

For at least 2 of the nights I was there I was the designated doll, and was dressed and made up accordingly by two friends; Elisa and Andrea, then smuggled in the car to our various destinations...

Giovani e Sorellina mia (Elisa)

Cristiana e Topi Topi

Andrea (Topi Topi) e Erika (Zia Paris)

Now I'm back in Florence (one of the hottest cities in Europe at the moment at 40 degrees) back to preparing for my italian exam and dreaming of going back to Elba!!

Ben tornata!

Oh hello there! Long time no.. see? Sorry for that! A few changes have come about since I last posted in January, and I think it could be a very interesting second half of 2012!

In February I headed back to Australia, where I was working and struggling to get a visa to come back to Italy, and finally after 6 months I am happy to say I am back in Florence with a study visa in my hot little passport!

I have enrolled at the Ag College at the University of Florence (much to my fathers joy that one of his offspring are following in his footsteps of Agriculture) to study Viticulture and Enologie, and presuming I pass my entry level Italian language test on the 3rd of September... it will provide me with a visa for the duration of the course (which, for one who doesn't have to repeat any subjects, is 3 years... no promises!) and allows me to work up to 20 hours a week. So presuming all goes well, I should be here for a little while!!

I've also moved out of the city in Florence and am temporarily living with Lorenzo and his parents about 5km out of the old city centre while they divide the house in two, essentially creating a little flat next door which we will hopefully be able to move into within a month.
I'll admit that I was somewhat dubious about moving a 20minute tram ride from the city (especially to live with someone else's parents!!), but after a week of living out here I feel so much more at home. There is a garden, a wood fired oven, markets around the corner, more locals, few tourists and it just feels like a more genuine version of Italy! Even if it is a little challenging sometimes ;)

So between now and the start of uni I am in holidays! Well deserved too- I worked for a good 6 months there you know!! Free to busk in the Tuscan sunshine as I see fit (if it can be called busking when the temperature reaches 38 degrees daily and you are cowering inside to escape the heat...) and study my Italian so I don't fail my entry test and get kicked out of the country!!