Grapes, Vines, Wine.

I woke up, still drunk from the night before. This is pretty normal when studying abroad. It was also really early. My family was in town for the week and today we had an activity planned. This wasn’t just any activity. This was a wine tour in Tramonti, Italy. Tramonti is about an hour and a half away from Sorrento, where my family was staying and where I study. That mean it was going to be a long drive.

I walked up to my parents’ villa and they met me out on the curb. My younger brother who had come out with me the night before was also feeling the effects of too much alcohol. He was hungover, and in a pissy mood. “You’re not going out again” my mom said. I personally couldn’t have been happier to go try some of Italy’s finest wine.

The drive didn’t last very long because I slept for most of it. It was actually one of those half-sleeps, where you can hear everything around you but can’t respond because physically, you are asleep. Mentally, I was still there, despite my drunken state. I could hear my older brother complaining about how windy it was. “I’m kind of feeling sick.” “Not this again” my mom replied.  He gets car-sick easily. My parents were also bewildered by the twists and turns through the Italian hills.

For anyone who isn’t from Italy, Italians drive like mad-men, passing people with barely any room while oncoming traffic lurks around the corner. Or maybe they are mad, and that's why they drive so aggressively. Since I had already been in the country for two months, I was used to it. It didn’t bother me whatsoever and I’ve never really experienced travel-sickness before. However, sleeping while traveling is rare for me and I was able to do this( half-sleep).

Before I knew it, I was there. It was a cloudy day: Gray skies, wet from the previous night’s rain, and cold. However, Campania is such a beautiful region that even when it rains it looks quite amazing. My sister told me about how sometimes the rain makes things look better, photography wise. I half agreed with that statement. Nonetheless, the scenery was stunning: lush green grass, a ghostly fog, and rolling hills for miles on end.

I had been on a wine tour before with my family in Dijon, France. The two vineyards could not have been more opposite. The Dijon vineyard was flat, with acres upon acres of vines. Out in the distance, a man walked his horse through the vines as part of the making process. The vineyard was big and historic, with a town close-by that was fairly populated.

The vineyard in Tramonti surprised me in the moment, but it made sense later. This vineyard was not flat at all, with layers of terraces with the vines planted on them.

This vineyard was owned by a couple of families in the town, which only had a population of four thousand or so. They had three types of red wines and one white wine. One of their red wines was not a blend of grapes but one grape, and they only produced 300 bottles a year. The high end stuff.

After the small tour and interesting factoids, it was time to taste the wine. On top of that, we would be sampling food.  And like a good Italian family, it was cooked right on spot for us by the mother.

I can’t remember all the food we tried(still drunk), but I do remember two dishes. We had a spicy bean dish and some bolognese accompanied by cheese, bread, and wine. There was more than that but that is all I can remember. What you need to know is that it was some of the best food I’ve had here. I can say that about the wine as well. But don’t take it from me, take it from Justin Timberlake. He went there with his wife and even sang for the winery workers. Just to prove it, they whipped out the photo book and there he was. So yes, I have been on the same wine tour as Justin Timberlake and countless other celebrities. Get on my level.

Everyone was satisfied, but my  younger brother was still being pouty. “I’m so cold” he said. “Your being a little bitch” I replied.  I was in heaven. My parents were too, and they were eager to order some wine at the end of the tour. My spoiled sister also managed for them to buy her a case of wine for her house in Nashville. “Hey, I actually drink wine so screw you guys” she said after my brothers and I all called her a spoiled brat.  Even my mom, who doesn’t like white wine, wanted to order theirs. I would hope that they would save some for the summer for when I get back.

As we were saying goodbye, I felt sad to leave. Italians really know how to make you feel like family. Even though we had paid money to be fed and entertained, it did not feel commercial at all.  This was the difference between the Dijon vineyard and the Tramonti vineyard. While the  Dijon tour was very good and a bigger tour, it did not have the personal feel of this vineyard.  On this tour, my family got to know who owned the vineyard, their background, and the heart, blood, sweat and tears that go into their product. Also, it’s not everyday you get to try wine so rare, that they only make 300 bottles a year.

While it all seemed shocking at first, it made perfect sense. For the most part, there is not much mass production in Italy. Maybe leather, but other than that I can’t think of too much. It’s a very refreshing thing for Americans, who can find a Dunkin Donuts on every corner in New England.

The ride home was much longer. I could no longer sleep and was sobering up, slipping into my hangover. None of that mattered too much because I was missing class anyway. I got back to Sorrento and headed right to school for the last fifteen minutes of my Italian class.

“Sono Andato Tramonti!  Ho Bevuto Vino!” I said to my teacher. She and my class laughed at me. It means: “I went to Tramonti, I drank wine.

Website: http://www.vinitenutasanfrancesco.com/home_eng.html