Who Drinks €500 Worth of Wine?

On Thursday, July 1^st, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to one of Firenze’s

most noted winery establishments. Nazdravie, which means “to health” in Russian, is host to not only an amazing stock of wine and a delicious restaurant, but to one of the top schools in Europe for becoming a sommelier. I had the fortunate experience of meeting Andrea, one of the founders of Nazdravie and one of Florence’s premier sommeliers. To say I was intimidated is a slight understatement. Only a week before had I learned the proper technique for opening a bottle of wine, and now I was standing in front of one of the foremost experts on the subject of beverage service and management, attempting to open a bottle of wine in the manner that is proper according to Italian regulations.

The day began simple enough, meeting at Apicius, hopping into my teacher’s car, and finally arriving at Nazdravie. I learned the proper placement of glasses on a table (first the water glass on the right, then a white or sparkling wine glass in the middle, followed by a red wine glass either in the back or on the left). Soon after, we sampled an amazing bottle of Prosecco. I was most impressed by Andrea’s ability to open the bottle with only a slight hiss of the cork, as opposed my usual, loud POP when I attempt to open a bottle. After this tasting, the moment arrived for each of us to open a bottle of wine in front of Andrea. I could see the beads of sweat dripping down my teacher’s head, the anxiety building in the room, would we be able to perform under this pressure? My other classmate performs her task flawlessly. I take the bottle of Chianti from Andrea and nervously step forward. Hands shaking and fear mounting, I begin. Although difficult, I eventually complete the task of opening the wine. And while my technique was not perfect, at least I did not break the cork.

After all the teaching was done, we were able to browse the shop, sample the food, and purchase some wines. While I decided to take the modest approach, purchasing only three bottles of the Prosecco we had sampled earlier to share with my roommates, some others were more determined to expand their horizons in the vino market (aka buying €500 worth of wine...who needs that much wine?!!!). An hour later, we finally left. Me with my three bottles, my classmate with her receipts for her shipment home, and my teacher with a sense of relief after we did not completely embarrass her, and we headed back to the city center.

Despite the pressure and intensity of standing in the presence of a man who is renowned for his skill and expertise in beverage service and management, Andrea’s lesson is one I will not soon forget. Although in an hour, I was neither able to master opening a sparkling wine bottle with only a slight hiss as the cork is popped, nor was I able to fully comprehend all of the ways of a sommelier, I did take away one important lesson: practice makes perfect. And so, I will continue my journey through Italy, soaking up as much knowledge as I can. And even if I must carry on sampling and buying wines until I achieve a completely silent bottle opening, I happily accept the challenge in front of me and cannot wait for the day it is first achieved, all the while knowing my skills first began at Apicius and with a field trip to Nazdravie.

On Friday, I ventured to a vineyard right outside of Montepulciano (yes, the place where New Moon was filmed, but if you go looking for the fountain Bella runs through at the end of the movie, don't bother...it's not really there :( very depressing). I got to sample an amazing bottle of Nobile de Montepulciano, which I cannot wait to sample again very soon. Later that afternoon, I ventured to Pisa, where I took more than enough pictures to last me a lifetime where I am holding up the tower, or in some cases pushing it down. One word of advice, don't go out of your way to go to Pisa. It is fun to take the pictures, but the other than that there is nothing there.

And how did I spend fourth of July? Hiking 9 MILESSSSSSSS...so what is the rule that I have learned from this? Do not believe an Italian Boy Scout leader when he tells you that you will just be going on a simple hike...needless to say my butt is still sore two days later!!!

Some highlights of the trip included: going to a point where Leonardo da Vinci performed a flying experiment, hugging a tree, seeing Ferragamo's house, almost crying in the middle of the woods, and finally coming back to Florence, where I proceeded to hug the sign that marked civilization again...quite an experience, one I am glad I did, but one I will never repeat.

And now a final lesson from yours truly: bring any medicine that you think you might possibly need with you when traveling abroad!!! Trust me on this one, pharmacy visits are tricky when you don't speak the language.

This week's restaurant of the week is Zero Zero, a delicious pizzeria with a modern decor. Amazing pizza and fish (the mare caldo is sooooo good).

It is hard to believe that I am already half way through with my time here. It seems like only yesterday when I arrived here, and now I have less than a month left until I return home. Although, I will not mind returning to air conditioning :)

Well, I must go work on my presentations and begin studying for my finals this week!! Ciao bellos!!

This week's amazing wine to sample is...Prosecco. An amazing blend of wines to create a delicious, light, fruity wine that is perfect for aperitivos (or early appetizers). This wine goes great with anything and is perfect on a hot summer's day