To The Estremi

Let me begin by stating that I'm having a hard time with this as my opening chapter title. For one thing, it's preconceived. But, mostly, it's what it represents: Planning.

A mere week ago - and for many months leading up to - I had a very different notion about what this blog would represent. It would be smart without being geeky, and it would meet the level of professionalism that I greet each and every one of these winemakers with. It would document this trip with the same seriousness that I first approached the topic of Italian wines with several years ago. But then I arrived, and within my first 3 days I had a few monumental realizations:

1. Liz & planning don't mix.
2. God has it out for me.
3. I am amazingly good at bluffing my way through instructional conversations delivered completely in Italian.
4. Women under 30 traveling solo through Italy is not normal.

Realizations #'s 1 & 3 I can't help but feel will be a reoccurring theme throughout my entire trip. Hopefully not #2, but it tends to be the effect of (or the scapegoat, at least) when I attempt to reverse realization #1. And, well, at least I'm prepared for awkward stares incited by realization #4. But I'm getting ahead of myself, as I often do. Realizations #'s 3 & 4 are for another entry, today focuses on #'s 1 & 2.

So that we're on the same page, though, let me give a quick overview of my master PLAN for the next 3 months in Italia.

I arrived during the last week of August in Milan with plans to depart for the Valle d'Aosta the following morning to squeeze in a few winery (or, as you'll hear me refer to them from here on out, CANTINA) tours before arriving in Piemonte on September 1st for moscato harvest at La Spinetta - when moscato harvest USUALLY takes place. Well, on the day I left the States I received an e-mail from the folks at La Spinetta letting me know that the August heat had escalated the grapes maturity... and they had already begun harvest. Now, La Spinetta is a fairly large winery, and they assured me that there would be plenty to do during my 3 week stay, and there was really no reason to be concerned about the early start.
...But when I got another e-mail from my second harvest in Trentino with Elisabetta Foradori - which was scheduled for a few days after my departure from Spinetta - I knew that something was up. Clearly God was out to punish me for even daring to make a plan... thus leading to realizations 1 & 2.

So far it seems manageable, and as far as I know the rest of the "plan" is still set. Or... at least, it is for 2 of the 3 months I am here. The final month is (currently) a hap-hazard trek through the south (solo... which you'll read about in the Valle d'Aosta entries), and I have absolutely no confirmations. But, to be honest, it now holds the fewest number of let-downs and most amount of surprises, so I've got that going for me. If the "plan" formulates as I projected back in New York City I will finish in Sicily at Terre Nere. That is, if Iano DeGrazia wants to follow up on HIS plan for me back in April. He seems to have forgot about me, and thus I may just show up knocking on his door. Hey, I got a lunch with Luigi Ferrando with an hours notice on a Saturday, so anything is possible.

Okay, so here's the part where I introduce the geeky wine aspect - which, truthfully, is gonna end up being the bread & butter of this blog. My wit can't really carry it THAT far (though I plan on interjecting with my own observations on la vita Italiana wherever possible). But, honestly, the actual trek through some of Italy's most noteworthy wine zones with apprenticeships and visits to some of the most prestigious winemakers is the real cause for my severed ties to my beloved city of New York, and my general notion of throwing all caution to the wind to embark on the ultimate wine journey. Mom and Dad, think of it as my thesis.

Not today, but shortly (I promise!) there will be links to each of the producers I visit with pictures to boast. Right now I'm just a little too tired from another long day in the cantina. See, it's starting already!

Ciao ragazzi, e buon viaggio!