syzygy

I have always believed in magic and miracles (or said a different way, that we are not alone, left with coincidences in life). As I have opened my heart and mind to such possibilities, I have started to notice more of these serendipitous moments in my life as alignment of the sun, stars and moon.

Padova is the second largest college town in  Italy with a number of different universities represented. Since classes do not resume until October, it was mostly populated with local residents. Galileo Galilei taught math here for 18 years. His astronomical observatory was housed at La Specola di Padova. Padova is also where the famous Italian aperol spritz, an aperitif cocktail, originated.

The town center is mostly closed off to autos. Most people travel by bicycles, many are fairly vintage as well since bicycles are subject to the highest thefts in the city so residents have learned to not bother to own the more expensive versions. Although I am used to see bicycles in San Francisco as a mode of transportation to and from work for many of the software engineers, it was adorable to see the locals go bar hopping via bicycles. Many had baskets and the little bells that reminded me of childhood.

From the beginning of booking the trip (with new templates...the party continues) with a one-way ticket as a fulfillment of stamp collection, I made no plans and decided to follow the wind wherever it may blow. There were so many moments throughout my travels in Italy where I felt that this is exactly where I need to be at this moment in time.

In its simplicity, the biggest 'aha' moment for me that left me with a huge grin and a bounce in my step was in taking a picture of a typical Italian casa in a cute courtyard in Padova. As I put the camera up to my face to snap the photo, I noticed a couple and a bicyclist approaching the left of the screen. They slowed down as they saw me with the camera, and without any cues, the bicyclist circled the courtyard and left the way he came, as if that was always his intent to come and circle the courtyard, while the couple waited for his departure before they leaned in for a romantic kiss and loving embrace. Both represented quintessential Italy. For me, they were where they needed to be at the exact moment in time.

family ties

Many psychologists believe birth order have profound effects on one's personality. It is part of the age-old question of nature vs. nurture. Being one of three, I sometimes understand how parents raise children differently based on birth order and gender. While I had heard about the three men from a mutual friend, I disagree with his assessment of the Calegaro brothers after spending individual time with them.

The older brother, who was supposed to be groomed to take over the family business, was a loner of sorts. Hair in a ponytail, traveling the city center via bicycle, he was rumored to be a Peter Pan. However, he seemed to me to be very much like the burners I have met lately, even having been many years before during one of the original Burning Man before it became so commercialized. He has tried many different types of drugs including growing his own marijuana in the countryside.

He did not want to be a part of the family business, much preferring the digital software world where he could work alone and in a more flexible schedule. In his rebellion, the responsibility then fell to the second-born, who had to forgo university to go straight into the business. My understanding of the Italian elite comprise of a combination of old money and/or education. While the family business has been doing well since 1921, it is considered more new money, and his lack of university seems to be a deterrent in being part of the elite social circles of Italy although the family is well-known in their home town.

For a brief period of time, the youngest was able to explore his passions of living abroad, chasing risks and writing as his creative outlet (for whom the bell tolls). Yet he was called back to the family business. Having published a few books, he also works as a freelance editor and has a side business training dogs. 

In a case for nature, the oldest and youngest brothers have more of their mother's disposition while the middle child is more like their father. The parents, while traveling and dining together, have chosen to live apart to maintain their relationship with the extroverted and social father living in the city center and the introverted mother tending to her countryside garden in a big house on a hill away from the hubbub of city life.

While the oldest is known as the 'failure' in the family, he is the one to break free to follow his authentic self. While our mutual friend felt sorry for the middle child who could not go to university which the friend claims is what is holding the middle brother from being part of the social elite, I think the friend is just projecting his need to be successful as defined by money and the social ladder. In their own ways, each brother is trapped in either the family obligation and/or the stigma of not aligning with the family expectation, when nature and nurture are at odds and cause conflicts in one's self, finding their own individual escape in drugs, running or writing.

tear down the walls

With Trump looking to build walls to exclude foreigners under the guise of protecting American jobs from undocumented workers, Italy has been evolving in the last few years to improve labor laws to protect low-skilled laborers and immigrants and create more transparency in doing so.

Harvesting, especially in the wine industry, does not require tremendous skill. Clippers and buckets are really the necessities. A few years ago, the local farmers' union created an initiative called 'Harvest of Solidarity' to promote matching the supply and demand of local seasonal laborers, mostly young although not limited to such and unemployed. It has also changed the local perception of this type of work as well, which is an interesting outcome given the irony of some Americans arguing that immigrants are stealing jobs that the Americans did not want.

During harvest, landowners are required to document their workers, including family members and neighbors (crushing grapes). This is to create transparency as well as protect everyone from cheap laborers (€1.5 an hour) working 12-15 hours per day. Periodically, planes fly by to snap pictures, counting the laborers on each vineyard to compare to the document provided by the landowners. Fines are up to €3k per infraction, enough to provide a deterrent in the local market.

crushing grapes

Well almost.

I was never a fanatic for I Love Lucy, but the episode where she and her best friend stomped on grapes to make wine seems to have stuck with me as one of those cool experiences. I finally decided to join my friend who owns a prosecco label to harvest season in Valdobbiadene, the finest prosecco region in Italy.

While they no longer crush grapes by stomping on them, they also generally harvest with machines. However, the beauty of Valdobbiadene is that the vineyards are on the mountain side, too steep for machinery. Every harvest is entirely done by hand. In many cases, the vineyards are family owned, and as each section of land is so diverse in its topography (e.g., soil, limestone, rainfall, sunlight), harvest even within the same vineyard is usually done when an agronomist or viticulturist determines  that various vines have the appropriate sugar content, so are done in batches.

My first experiencing harvesting with the top agronomist in Valdobbiadene and his family was definitely an unforgettable experience. The forecast called for rain, which would have made the steep hills challenging as well as the battle to beat the rain, in fears of it diluting the fruit content. With waterproof booties, long socks, and clippers in tow, we were prepared for what nature had in store for us. However, she graced us with a beautiful sunny day with crisp air and the magnificent aroma of grapes and slight fermentation. 

Although his vineyard is less than an acre, this is his passion, and harvest is family time for him, ranging at least three generations. Every vine is passed over at least by two sets of eyes with neighbors helping each other. Lunch was prepared by the matriarchy of the clan, and served on a picnic table nestled in the vineyards with all the fineries of Italian culinary delights of prosciutto, cheese, pasta, olives, peppers, prosecco, torte, and caffé perfecto (coffee with homemade grappa).

While I did not understand everything that was said, I shared in the laughs and family frivolity such as when the parents pointed out the massive hickey that the older son had on his neck, resulting in his face turning beet red. While other vignerons were selling their best harvest in many years to vintners, Giovanni chose to keep his batch to make his own blend of bubbles for personal use.

They did offer the silly American an opportunity to fulfill my dream of crushing grapes by throwing some poorer quality grapes into a bowl so that I could stick a foot on it but the dream was just in living out the day with a beautiful and gracious family rather than some silly stomping of grapes.

moonshine

Wine, of all varieties, and even certain spirits are so cheap in Italy, in many cases about a fourth or a third of the prices in the U.S. Children grow up drinking wine with meals. We often ran into other Americans in grocery stores and delis looking to buy bottles to enjoy at their residences, usually pondering at the aisle whether the prices were indicative of quality.

There seems to be little correlation as many of the local wines are not sold internationally. In fact, the vintners tend to use the best grapes to be used for the prosecco and wine in the local market and the lesser quality grapes for the international market. With all the duties and taxes, a similar bottle would be significantly more pricey in other markets. With the additional charges, their profit is not significant in the other markets yet the companies know that to compete in the local market, they are also competing with the homemade variety as well.

Many Italian homes have made their own alcohol for generations. A family who owns a deli on the Amalfi Coast makes their own red and white wine in bulk in a small storage room under their house on the cliffs, and sell it to locals in large jugs. Families have their own recipes past down the generations in making spirits like limoncello or grappa. They also experiment with various ingredients. One family altered the fermenting process and recipe to also create cough medicine from pine cones, sugar and sunlight. Learning the process is a rite of passage for the children, especially when their product is brought out to be showcased at a family event.

When attending lunches or dinners at an Italian family's home, alcohol is flowing as if it was like water. It came as no surprise when I found myself loving the taste of a particular prosecco at a dinner in Meolo that turned out to come from an unmarked bottle, the usual indicators of something that was homemade rather than store bought.