Winemaking in Abruzzo
Perhaps my favorite experience on my second visit to Italy was being a witness to the winemaking ritual. Small batch, local grapes grown on my family's vineyard. The evening prior to this act of divine agricultural magic, I was conversing with my cousin, Nicola, whose English is no better than my Italian. He told me of his plans to make wine the next morning, and I think was surprised that I asked to participate. Perhaps to an Italian native, this is no special occasion, because in Abruzzo, it appears, everyone makes their own wine. If you're American however, you can understand why I was so intrigued and eager to break out the camera. On winemaking day, it was a gorgeous sunny morning on the coast of the Adriatic, where my DiRisio family's B&B is located. Il Tremolar della Marina (translation = The Trembling of the Navy) sits up on a hill facing the sea, and behind it an ascending maze of grapes of many varieties. Nicola and his two friends would be making white w...