Reflections of a Wine Merchant by Neal I. Rosenthal

Author:Neal I. Rosenthal [Rosenthal, Neal I.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780374531782
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

As the sun threw its last rays onto the stone exterior of the Clerino hut, Ping and his wife asked me to stay for dinner, what was certain to be a simple affair cooked over a fire in the stone hearth. They would bed down in this stone shack for the night, close to their animals that were grazing on the mountain. This part of the summer was all about the cattle. From time to time during this season, Ping would wander down to the vineyards and do a quick survey with Luigi to ensure that all was well. Carema’s rather dry climate safeguards the fruit from the dangers of rot, which allows Ping and his fellow farmers to take care of other aspects of their farming while waiting for the grapes to ripen.

I politely begged off dinner, indicating that I had to return to Ivrea to meet with Luigi. I stumbled out into the late day’s light and weaved my way back to the car. I was warm inside and dizzy, overwhelmed by the grappa but equally by the heady throes of a new friendship and the delights of discovering another part of this mountain culture.

Ping was just one of many characters whose acquaintance I made over the years while touring the mountains with Luigi. Luigi and I have skied together from Cervinia to Zermatt and back accompanied by family and friends; we have hiked Mount Mombarone in the midst of runners competing in the annual fifteen-kilometer race from Ivrea to the summit; we have explored the national park of Gran Paradiso in search of the chamois. We have had extravagant dinners in fine restaurants and have eaten polenta in the home of the region’s maestro di polenta. The foothills and the mountains of northwestern Italy have been a source of inspiration and instruction for a quarter century, and Luigi Ferrando has been my guide.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.