samanthapruettkopf

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A few thanks...

Reflecting back on this trip, I want to thank all those that made this possible.

To Professors Sabitoni, Warrener, and Pettine, for choosing little ol’ me to receive this scholarship and go on this trip, and lastly for seeing the potential in me to take what I learned and apply it to my future endeavors.

To Professors Griffin and Korry, and Kolby, for writing my recommendation letters for my application, and believing in my career goals and path enough to put time aside and write such amazing letters on my behalf.

To all the people we met during our winery and vineyard visits, for inspiring me to work my butt off for my dreams in the industry, especially Katie from St Francis and Amandine from Louis Jadot for being the strong women I hope and strive to be one day.

And to my family members, especially my dad, for encouraging me to apply for this scholarship and pursue my dreams, no matter how outrageous or farfetched they may seem. 

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength [my family], the patience [my professors], and the passion [my idols in the industry] to reach for the stars to change the world.”

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Day 37 and the Return Home

Our last full day abroad was spent in Paris. Leaving Beaune early in the morning, we drove back to Paris, checked into the hotel, and set out to explore Paris for the second time! 

Taking the metro into the city, I first stopped at the Musee d’Orsay, mainly to see some of Van Gogh’s paintings. The museum is located within an old train station and the floor is filled with sculptures, while the side rooms have tons of amazing paintings. I had lunch at their small cafe, and was sat between two groups of fellow Americans! I made some small talk with them, talked about wine, and gave them my business card, as making connections is very important in this industry! 

Leaving the museum, I walked over to Les Invalides, which is a military museum and also contains Napoleon’s tomb, which is what I really wanted to see. 

I met back up with some group members and we sat by the Eiffel Tower as it got dark and it started to sparkle. We drank a bottle of Pommery Champagne and toasted to the end of a spectacular trip! For our last hurrah, we went to two bars that were recommended - Dirty Dick’s and Glass, which are right across the street from each other. 

Luckily I did not have an early flight out the next morning, so I slept in a bit, tried to strategically pack my suitcases, to no avail, and flew out of Paris after noon, and arrived back in Providence around 8 PM Eastern time. I was extremely jet lagged and went right to sleep, still dreaming of my adventures. 

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Days 35 & 36 - Working in Louis Jadot

Our last days at Jadot consisted of diving head first into the production of wine! We met the crew early in the morning and started with doing pigeage to the fermenting tanks, which is punching down the cap of grape skins to release the carbon dioxide. Being short is not an asset for this job! 

A few people split off from the group to do specific tasks with some of the cellar workers (most of which did not speak any English), and some of us moved probably 100 or so barrels, no exaggeration, from one side of the cellar to the other. After the 20th barrel or so, I felt that I got the hang of moving something that weighs as much as I do! 

I then “painted” some barrels with leftover grape juice, so any spillage of wine doesn’t make the barrels look ugly. It was purely for aesthetics. We then had a quick lunch with the workers, and got back to work! I topped off some 100 or so barrels with a red blend for the next 4 hours! While it was monotonous, I feel that with some music or a podcast, the time would fly by and I wouldn’t mind doing that all day long. 

We headed back to the hotel to refresh for dinner and wash off all the wine that had splashed on us throughout the day. We met the head winemaker, Frederic, at the local restaurant L’Ecusson for dinner. He was so knowledgeable and great to answer our questions. At first, he ordered one of the few wines that wasn’t Jadot from the menu, but it was sold out. So he ordered a second, which was also sold out! Thinking third time’s the charm, he ordered a third bottle, which turned out to be corked! After getting an non-corked bottle, the dinner turned out to be fantastic! 

The next day, we worked on the bottling and packaging lines! We were split up and I was put on a packaging line with two wonderful women, who unfortunately did not speak any English so it was difficult to understand what they wanted me to do. After a few mistakes, I got the hang of rapidly putting the bottles in boxes, folding boxes quickly, and sending them down the line to be sorted for shipping. 

After another quick lunch with the crew, we moved over to the boutique to work with Christine. She had us restock the wines and take inventory of the boutique, which was a nice alternative from moving barrels and topping them off! 

These two days were a great experience because I want to be a winemaker one day, and it was amazing to get the chance to experience the work in the cellars before jumping head first into something I did not know what to expect. 

The dinner was not only our farewell with Jadot, but also the entire group! It was our last night all together so it was definitely bittersweet. Christine was our host at the winery and she served us some amazing wines and some of her winemaking quirks! She told us that the 2014 vintage of Fleurie, the bottle that I had bought, was treated with music she put near the tanks, which included Celtic, Classical, and some Pink Floyd! 

To finish our trip, she took us back down to the cellars in the pitch dark, where everyone had left for the day. It was definitely eerie, but she told us to focus on the energy coming from the barrels, and as crazy as it sounds, I definitely felt something.  

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Days 33 & 34 - Free Days in Beaune

We had two free days to explore Beaune before we put in the elbow grease at Jadot. Since I had been to Beaune before, I decided to take Saturday to relax as I was feeling burnt out by the trip. It was nice to catch up on sleep and some Netflix before finishing the trip out with a bang!

On Sunday, I went into Beaune to visit the Hospices, which was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, as a hospital for the poor. The Hospices also hosts the annual wine auction in November. I opted for the audio tour, and the architecture combined with the history and meaning behind the hospital was amazing. If anyone gets the chance to visit Beaune, the Hospices is a must. 

A few of us then drove to Chateau d’Entre Deux Monts in Nuits-Saint-Georges where Burgundy truffles are hunted. We unfortunately missed the 11:00 tour, where they drive into the woods, watch the dogs hunt, and bring back truffles for lunch, but we got to taste Ratatruffe, a liquor made from Ratafia (distilled marc and grape juice) and truffles. (I did buy a bottle of it... why not!)

Our last stop of the day was the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot, which we had driven past a few days before with Manuela. We did not do the tour, but we walked through the vines sampling some of the leftover Pinot Noir grapes from harvest. They were definitely not ripe! 

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Day 32 - Continuing the journey of Jadot

Early in the morning, we set out to drive to Chateau des Jacques in Beaujolais to meet with Cyril, the manager of the estate. The estate was currently under construction, as they were revamping the buildings and land. They had moved all the tanks to a separate building, and most of the fermentations were finished. 

He took us down to the cellar where he led us through a tasting of 10 wines. The wines included: 2016 Beaujolais Blanc Grand Clos Loyse, 2014 Moulin a Vent, 2014 La Roche, 2014 Morgon, 2000 Moulin a Vent, and 2014 Fleurie, which was my personal favorite and which I bought a bottle of later. 

We had a quick lunch with Cyril at Les Plantanes de Chenas, and quickly drove over to Domaine Ferret in Pouilly-Fuisse. where we met with Audrey, the manager of the estate. She gave us a quick tour of the vineyards in the vicinity and the winery, finishing with a tasting of their wines. The tasting included 2015 Autour de la Roche, 2015 Les Menetrieres, 2015 Les Perrieres, and 2015 Clos des Prouges. Audrey was a great guide through the wines because she also had a map of the area and talked through the terroir and history of the vineyards with great detail. 

Our last stop was at the Jadot winery in Givry, Cellier des Pierres Rouges. Now, we had two cars, and the car I was in entered the wrong address into the GPS so we drove for about an hour in the wrong direction. The other car arrived and did a quick tour while they waited for us. After getting the real address and driving for another hour, we arrived and apologized profusely for getting lost. 

Remi, the manager, was extremely gracious and understanding and did the tour a second time for us! We were very thankful he took extra time out of his evening to show us around. The winery is fairly new for Jadot, and he himself is new to the industry! He has a huge responsibility with the winery but is looking hopefully into the future. 

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Day 31 - Exploring the world of Louis Jadot

Melle from Louis Jadot sent us a detailed agenda of the activities they had in store for us. Our first full day started with a visit to Cadus, the cooperage from which Jadot buys their barrels from. None of us had been to a cooperage before and we were in store for some mind-blowing experiences.

Our guide, Antoine, started with showing us where the wood for the barrels are received and stored, stating that the bank owns the land and can buy everything whenever they want! We saw a few workers sorting the planks on size and filtering out the pieces that were not good enough.

Those pieces are then sent to machines that cut them to size and sand them so the barrel making process can start. We watched two workers fit all the planks within the metal rings and use a heavy hammer to BANG everything together. Ear plugs were a necessity. It takes copious amounts of strength to begin the process. 

The mostly-assembled barrels are then sent over to get toasted according to what the wineries want. Jadot orders a medium plus toast. The barrels are constantly flipped around so the entire interior gets the same amount of toastiness. 

After cooling down, the barrels are fitted with the tops and bottoms, sanded down to perfection, branded with codes and logos if necessary, and then packaged for distribution. At Cadus, they can make up to 120 barrels a day! 

Our next stop was at the main Jadot winery, where we met Pierrick and he led us on a tour through the winery and cellars. I had visited the Jadot winery last summer, so the tour was very familiar. The new experience, however, was getting to taste the 2017 vintage from the barrels! Pierrick gave us tastes of at least a dozen wines from various places.

Finishing the tour, we sat down for lunch with Amandine, who is the new oenologist. It was nice to sit down with someone around our age and get advice on how to start our careers in the field. 

After lunch, we met with Manuela, who was going to be our chauffeur around the vineyards of Burgundy. For about 4 hours, we drove around, stopping at different areas such as Clos Saint-Jacques, Romanee Conti, Clos Vougeot, Corton Charlemagne, and all throughout Volnay, Pommard, Meursault, and many more. 

Quickly changing and heading back over to the Jadot offices in Beaune, we met with Olivier, the export manager, for dinner. Before we sat down to eat, he took us down to the cellars beneath the Couvent des Jacobins. The cellars held wines dating back to 1867! He also told us that during World War 2, Mrs. Jadot hid Jewish children in the cellars while she hosted Nazi soldiers and generals right above their heads to save face. They had also built false doors in case the Germans came to ransack the cellars. 

Dinner with Olivier was amazing, as he is very down to earth, personable, and hysterical. He also had great advice for us women in the industry, as he was a driving force for equality in the restaurant industry. His stories were extremely moving and I have the utmost respect for him and what he as done. 

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Day 30 - First Night in Beaune

Driving towards our last winery to visit, Louis Jadot, we had a 3.5 hour ride ahead of us. Since our only obligation was for dinner later in the evening, we had plenty of time to explore along the way. We decided to stop in Chablis for lunch.

It was a beautiful little town with tons of shops of local wines and speciality foods. We had some time before our reservation at Le Bistrot des Grands Crus so we walked around and did some shopping. At the restaurant, they had a combo deal where you get a glass of wine and an entree for a cheap price! I had the Le Jambon à la Chablisienne, which is a classic dish of Chablis, and for wine... of course I had a glass of Chardonnay! It’d be blasphemy if I didn’t!

After arriving in Beaune, we got ready for our dinner with Michel from Louis Jadot at their offices in the town of Beaune itself.

Michel was an awesome host, giving us tips of the industry, his world views, and his humor! The food and drinks were amazing, although I did not get any pictures of the wines, I give you all my word they were spectacular. I also learned that Beaune cuisine focuses heavily on mushrooms, which I am not a fan of. I am willing to try anything, but there is no guarantee I’ll finish it!

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Days 28 & 29 - Taittinger

The group drove a quick hour and a half into the famous area of Champagne for our first visit in France, Taittinger. Jean Pierre, the PR manager for the company, met us at the hotel in Reims and first took us over to the Cathedral. We toured in the inside of the gigantic church, and unfortunately, the light show was no longer being shown at night, so we ultimately did not get to see it. He then took us to the winery and headquarters. (I had visited Taittinger before, so the first day was a great refresher). 

He brought us through the caves underneath the winery and showed us the numerous bottles of Champagnes aging on the lees. A detail that I had missed the last time I was in the caves was the written and inscriptions in the walls. He pointed some out that were carved by soldiers in the first World War. Even though I had taken the tour before, it was great to have new experiences, no matter how small. 

For lunch, Jean Pierre took us to a private Taittinger chateau in the heart of Champagne. With our lunch, we had the 2006 Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, Prelude Grand Cru, Les Folies de la Marquetterie, and Nocturne Rose. 

Returning to the city of Reims, some explored the city and some rested, but we met up at Brasserie du Boulingrin, which Jean Pierre had recommended. Continuing the theme of the day, we had some Champagne with our meal! 

The next day was spent at the bottling facility, where we could see basically beginning to end of the process. The bottles came in, were disgorged, dosaged, and corked then sent onto labeling and packaged. We had never seen the process from beginning to end, and it moved so quickly right before our eyes! It was definitely an experience we will never forget. 

For the second day’s lunch, we arrived at another private chateau where Jose sabred our bottle of Champagne, as Jean Pierre said it was a Taittinger tradition! 

With our lunch, we tasted the 2006 Blanc de Blancs that we had the previous day, 2012 Brut Millesime, and the Nocturne. It was a pleasure dining and spending time with Jean Pierre, and we learned so much in such a short amount of time with Taittinger! 

Since we had a bit of time after lunch, I suggested we visit Pommery, as it was my favorite stop in Champagne. We attended the 5:00 tour with a glass included at the end of the tour as a reward for surviving it! They featured numerous art pieces in the caves, and all of the art pieces were different than the ones I had seen before! While the content of the tour was the same, it was nice to have a new experience with the art pieces. For it the last hurrah in Champagne, I couldn’t complain. 

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Days 25 - 27 - Free Days in Paris

Arriving in Paris, a free weekend was ahead of us. We all basically went our separate ways, as some had more past experience in the city compared to others. 

The first night, a few of us did laundry at a close laundromat. After we got there, we realized we didn’t bring any detergent, so step one was finding some nearby! We acquired the detergent, put the clothes in, had a few eclairs while we waited, and when our clothes were done, it started pouring outside. We couldn’t let our freshly dried clothes get wet, so we literally took a three minute Uber back to the hotel, in hopes of sparing our fresh clothes. We were also hungry so we took advantage of having delivery services in Paris and order burgers and fries from Poulet Poulette, which were amazing. 

The next day, I headed out by myself to visit some places I had not seen during my previous trip to Paris. My first stop was the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. I took the Metro to the cemetery and mapped out the people I wanted to see. I saw Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Chopin, and Delacroix. It was a humbling experience to be in the presence of such amazing people that did so much in their lifetime, and I was actually disappointed by the actions of others as many graves had been vandalized and broken in some parts. 

My next stop was a liquor store that specialized in absinthe. After about 20 minutes of walking in circles, I determined that the place had shut down permanently. However, right across the street was another store that had very few options, but options none the less. I opted for a bottle called Lucid, which the clerk described as a lighter style of absinthe. 

I shopped around a bit, had lunch on the Seine, watched a skateboard competition, and headed back the hotel for a nap as I was feeling burnt out from the trip. For Cayley’s birthday, a few of us went to Chez Lena et Mimile for dinner and drinks. 

On Sunday, Megan and I got up early to catch the train to Versailles. The palace was beautiful and so extravagant that I couldn’t imagine that people actually lived there; there was so much room, you couldn’t even do anything with all of it! The decor and art were so delicate and intricate, I started wishing I was born into French royalty! (Not the whole Revolution, execution, fleeing part though). It was also pouring rain, so instead of going into the Gardens, we had a quick lunch and took the train back to the city.

I took a quick nap and went to the Pantheon, which was nearby. The Pantheon was a Roman temple, now is a church and museum. The interior is enormous; multiple paintings on the walls, a pendulum suspended from the dome, and a crypt down below. Some included in the crypt were Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, Rousseau, and Voltaire. 

I wanted to take it easy that night so I ordered delivery again, this time burritos, and just relaxed, preparing for the next week of winery visits and activities.  

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Days 23 & 24 - Michele Chiarlo

Our last two days in Italy were spent with the world famous producer Michele Chiarlo in the Piemonte region of northwestern Italy. We had a five hour drive in the morning, and after a brief stop in Siena to see the sights, we arrived at the winery in Asti. 

Alberto, our guide, greeted us and quickly started the tour of the facility. He showed us the barrel room, where they had a special “Barolo” room, which as you may have guessed, was filled with delicious Barolo. The facility itself was small, as they have other properties, so we jumped right into the tasting portion.

We tasted the 2016 Gavi Le Marne, 2016 Gavi del Comune di Gavi Rovereto, 2016 Roero Arneis, 2015 Barbera d’Asti Superiore Le Orme, 2014 Barbera d’Asti Superiore Cipressi, 2013 Barbera LaCourt Nizza, 2013 Piemonte Albarossa Montald (which isn’t available in the US yet), and 2016 Moscato d’Asti Nivole. 

They had made a reservation for us at the Ristorante Enoteca Canelli, and bid us farewell until the next day. For dinner, I had risotto with green apples and foie gras and roasted pigeon as my entree. 

The next day with Michele Chiarlo was located at their estate/combo hotel called Palas Cerequio where we had a cooking class with Vincenzo. Divided into three groups, we each tackled a course for lunch. The appetizer was Vitello Tonnato, which was sous vide veal served with a caper and tuna pate sort of thing. The entree, which was partiality my domain, was Tajarin al ragu. I helped make the fresh pasta, and it was served two ways. One with the sausage ragu and one with a creamy butter sauce and freshly sliced black truffles. Dessert was Bonet, which was a chocolatey, lava cake-like gooey goodness! We did pretty good in our cooking class, so they gave us all “diplomas” for completing the course! I am now certified in Piemontese cuisine. 

To work off all the calories we had just consumed, we took e-bikes to the nearby Barolo museum. We arrived after a few falls and scrapes while riding through the vineyards (would not recommend) and had audio guides through the very eccentric museum. They had many hands-on exhibits about the history of wine, so while it was strange, it was very informative with the interactive parts. 

We rode the bikes back to the estate, returned to the hotel for a quick nap, and went back out to dinner at another restaurant Michele Chiarlo had reserve for us, Ristorante San Marco. I had scallops with a green pea sauce and pickled vegetables, and lamb with an apricot jam for my entree. Again, they picked a great place as it was delicious!

Our time in Italy had come to an end, and we celebrated with a group dinner together before we ventured onto France. 

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Day 22 - Tenuta San Guido & Tenute Silvio Nardi

The group got up in the wee hours of the morning to drive 2 hours to Bolgheri to visit Tenuta San Guido, home of Sassicaia. We were greeted by Benedetta, our tour guide for the afternoon. She gave us the in depth history of the winery and the properties they own. I learned many things about the owner, Mario, and the history of the estate, such as Sassicaia means “land of the stones,” which resembles the Graves in Bordeaux. Sassicaia is also the only estate in Italy to have its own DOC designation!

For our tasting, we had the 2015 Le Difese (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Sangiovese); 2015 Guidoalberto (60% Cabernet, 40% Merlot); and the 2014 Sassicaia (85% Cabernet, 15% Cabernet Franc). We had a beautiful lunch at their restaurant and had the three wines from the tasting to pair as we pleased with our meals.

Like the previous day, we had another appointment at another winery, so we had to split. Quickly stopping at the water’s edge to touch the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, we drove towards Montalcino to visit Tenute Silvio Nardi.

The owner, Emilia, welcomed us very warmly into her family home! Michela, the head of marketing and PR gave us a tour of the faculties, including the sorting table where the workers were working with the Sangiovese, and the underground caves where they had barrels aging.

We were staying at the property overnight, so after a small resting break, we reconvened in the lavish dining room for a traditional Italian dinner with Emilia and Michela. I do not have the exact list of wines we tasted, but we had three different Brunello di Montalcino’s that paired perfectly with the meal. We ended with fruity ice creams and their Vino Santo, which was to die for.

After the filling meal, we settled into our rooms on the estate in preparation for a 5 hour drive the next morning to Piemonte.

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Day 21 - Tenuta Sette Ponti and Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari

Leaving the beautiful city of Florence was hard, but when you are heading to Chianti, who can complain?? Our first winery of the day was at Sette Ponti, where we were greeted by Fabiana. She gave us a quick tour through the Sangiovese vines outside the gorgeous villa (where the owner lives), and then guided us through a tasting of their wines, with the little dogs waiting at our feet for spillage.

We started with two Grillos, one aged in oak (Family and Friends, 2016), the other in stainless steel (Grillo, 2016). Then we compared two Nero d’Avolas, again one aged in oak (Saia, 2015), the other not (Nero D’Avola, 2015). We finished with two Sangioveses (Crognolo, 2015; Oreno, 2015), a Syrah (Maharis, 2015), and a Cabernet Sauvignon (Poggio al Lupo, 2015). Finishing, we had a light, yet delicious lunch, where we choose our favorite wines from the tasting to pair with our food.

We had to rush a little to make it to our next appointment at Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari, which was about an hour and a half away. We arrived just in time to be greeted by Michele Polvani. He took us into the cellars for a tour, and we sat down for a tasting next to the reserve of past vintages. Somehow we convinced him to taste a 1996 Cabreo blend next to the 2015 vintage! That was such a treat and we were very grateful for their generosity. The best, however, was the Brunello, which each of us bought a bottle of!

After the super long day of tasting and touring, we took the scenic route to our hotel and saw some views we’ll never be able to see again. We ordered pizzas to our hotel, drank some Brunello, and just had a laid back night, reminiscing about our day.  

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Days 18 - 20 - Parma, Bologna, and free days in Florence

The next few days were all about travel and exploration. Leaving the Alighieri estate in Valpolicella, we were not due in Florence until later that evening. We decided to first stop in Parma for lunch. We bought some ham, prosciutto, and parmesan cheese and sat in a park with a bottle of (not that great) Lambrusco. Could you get any more Italian??

The next stop on the way to Florence was in Bologna. The group briefly stopped at Trattoria Anna Maria, where they say the sauce is slowly cooked over 8 hours and the pasta is cooked for only a few seconds, giving you the perfect bolognese. I will say it was pretty perfect!

After arriving in Florence, through the traffic and narrow streets, we took a quick rest and set out to find dinner. We drank cocktails at MAD Souls & Spirits. I had a drink that contained gin, lemon, wild berries, Prosecco, and apple vinegar. I really wanted to try the strange-sounding drink that contained vinegar in it, and it did not disappoint. Right across the street was a small restaurant called Gesto, which had little appetizer bites. We walked about 10 feet and found our place for dinner! We tried their pork “nuggets,” ceviche, American styled burger, sushi tacos, gnocchi, eggplant parmesan, and lasagna. The best plate was definitely the nuggets with their BBQ sauce; sooo good. 

Our first full day in Florence was spent exploring the gorgeous city. We stopped at the Museo dell'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore (which I thought for some reason was an opera museum... it’s not), Ponte Vecchio, Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (aka the Duomo), Piazza della Signoria, and numerous little shops for clothes and souvenirs. For dinner, we were craving PIZZA, so we settled on a little place and ate our weights worth of pizza, which was completely satisfying. 

After dinner, Cayley led the expedition to find a bar she had read about called Rasputin. It was a hidden, Prohibition -styled speakeasy with no address. After about 20 minutes of walking back and forth, asking locals where the bar was, we came across a small alcove with pictures on a wall. There was also a bell to ring, so we just pressed the button and then a picture moved to reveal a pair of eyes! This was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. After closing the picture, and revealing the hidden door, our server Francesca, sat us in this 20s style, gothic bar that was underground, literally! Rasputin specializes in only cocktails, so first I had the R-Punch, which was like a rum punch and daiquiri hybrid. For the second round, I opted for absinthe, which they poured with cold water, and torched a sugar cube for an added smokiness. Deliciousness.

To continue the trend for the next day, we visited mostly museums in Florence. First was the Galleria dell'Accademia. The line was very long and it was raining, so we signed up for a guided tour, which would 1. get us in faster, and 2. provide insight to the art. With a small group, we entered the museum, and obviously, the best sight is the David, by Michelangelo. Our tour guide gave great information on the piece, like the detailing of the veins, how many stones he is holding, the positioning of the legs, and a general background of Michelangelo. The sculpture was also much bigger than I had anticipated.

The next museum was the Da Vinci Museum, which contained replicas of his inventions and machines. Parts of the display were “please touch” so we could actually work out his inventions, with explanations on how it works and how he came up with it! I had thought it was going to be an art museum, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

The last museum was the Galileo Museum. It contained thousands of historical science and space pieces, like telescopes, microscopes, pocket watches, chemistry sets, and a huge armillary sphere, which I had never seen before. Again, I wasn’t sure what to expect in this museum, but it was very informative and worth the time. 

We really enjoyed Rasputin the night prior, so we grabbed a quick pasta dinner nearby, and finished the night with cocktails at our new favorite bar. They say Florence is a beautiful city, and there is no argument there, especially in the smaller, lesser-known parts. 

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Day 17 - MASI Agricola

Leaving Verona, we took a short drive to Valpolicella, to visit MASI Agricola specifically. Masimilla, a member of the Serego Alighieri family, who own part of the company, greeted us warmly and started us on the tour. We toured the drying racks of the Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara, and Oceleta grapes for the Amarone wines they produce. I have never seen these drying racks up close, only in pictures! They were freshly harvested so the grapes had not had time to start drying. 

We then toured the cellars where they had their wines aging in barrels. MASI had a few square “barrels” which none of us had ever seen before, and will probably never see again. They had some of the biggest barrels I’ve ever seen, which is apparently very popular and normal in Italy to have large barrels instead of the smaller barriques we are used to here in the US. 

Masimilla led us to a classroom styled tasting room, where we had the Rosi dei Masi, Bonacosta, their 50th anniversary Campfiorin, Brolo Campofiorin, and Vaio Armaron. All were delicious, and the Rose surprised me the most, which was made from Refosco. 

After the tasting, we drove a bit to the MASI tasting room and restaurant, where we had a wonderful spread of proscuittio, ham, all the cured meats we could think of, along with tons of cheeses. For lunch, I had tortelli stuffed with a local white fish and tomatoes. Straight up Italian deliciousness. Dessert was almond biscotti served with grappa that is traditionally poured over the biscotti then enjoyed. 

Overnight, we actually stayed at the Serego Alighieri estate, surrounded by beautiful vines and hills in the background. They were very generous and warm to our group.

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Days 13 - 16 - Travel, Venice, and Verona

It took us an entire day to fly into Venice; it was exhausting. With an 8:00 AM flight from San Francisco, a layover in Philadelphia, then an 8 hour flight to Venice, we had finally arrived. But wait, then we had to get a boat to get the hotel! It was a crazy experience, as no where else in the world is like Venice. We had a light lunch, and I actually went back to the hotel for a quick nap, as I was still exhausted from the previous travel day. We met up for dinner at Bar da Gino, where I had the best lasagna of my life, which I ate with Chianti. Mmm so good. We moved over to the Corner Pub, where we met a couple from Manchester that were celebrating her 70th birthday! We celebrated with Prosecco and had a great night.

The next day consisted of sightseeing and roaming in the rain. I saw the Rialto Bridge, the ginormous hand sculptures, that were “holding” up a building, from Lorenzo Quinn. This sculpture was made to represent climate change and its affects. I also ventured to St Mark’s Basilica, the Bridge of Sighs, and the Grand Canal. One thing I will say about Venice, is that it is beautiful and well kept, but it really does smell like a sewer. 

Day 16 started with catching a train to Verona. We dropped off our luggage and set out for another day of exploring. We saw the Arena di Verona, Casa di Giulietta (which was mobbed, with people, and notes on the walls), Castelvecchio as well as the bridge. We sat by the river and feed the ducks. For lunch we stopped at Locanda della Seconda Balena for a fantastic lunch of prosciutto crudo, carbonara, and gnocchi, with a bottle of Soave. The past fews days had great relaxation times before getting back to the agenda. 

[samanthapruettkopf]

Day 12 - San Francisco

Our real last day in California was spent in San Francisco. As a first timer, I wanted to see all the sights. After driving through Muir Woods (and running over a squirrel on the way out), we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and landed in the city. We first made the trek up a very steep hill to see the Painted Ladies houses, which they used for the theme song for Full House, one of my favorite TV shows! 

For lunch, we headed down to Japantown and ate a cute conveyor belt sushi place! After some brief shopping, we took a trolley car down to the water, towards Fisherman’s Wharf. We saw the sea lions, Boudin, some guy doing a balancing act, and Alcatraz from a distance. We had a seaside dinner and finished with dessert at Ghirardelli. 

With an early morning flight the next day, we had to get mentally and physically ready for a long travel day! 

[samanthapruettkopf]

Days 10 & 11 - St Francis Winery

The last two days in California were spent at the beautiful St Francis Winery. Arriving, we met Bob, the COO. He gave us a quick history of his time at the winery and the winery itself. We were then whisked away by Katie, one of the two winemakers, who handled the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. She toured us through the winery, seeing some workers clean out tanks, and going up top to peak at some fermenting Pinot. They have so many tanks, most of them were empty!

They set up a quick and casual lunch, then we went with Jake (who we previously met at Sequoia!) to the certified sustainable Wild Oak Vineyard, and the Behler Vineyard, which was the first St Francis estate vineyard. The Behler vineyard was being replanted, so he talked about the problems he encountered with the grafting and soil composition. 

After yet again being stolen to do something else, Bob and Chris, the other winemaker who handled the Bordeaux grapes, took us to the top of Lagomarsino Vineyard in Healdsburg for a Cabernet Sauvignon tasting. On the way back, we stopped at a location Bob was thinking about planning a tasting spot at for guests.

We had a quick break to change at the hotel, and we met everyone back at the winery for dinner, which pretty much all of the heads of departments in the winery. For the first course we had salmon with blistered sweet 100s, corn pudding, and bacon marmalade, paired with 2014 Extended Age Chardonnay from the Behler Vineyard. Second, was gazpacho with 2014 Reserve Merlot. Third, Snake River Farms striploin with honey lavender carrots, spinach puree, Bordelaise, and a caramelized onion foam, paired with 2014 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Lastly, for dessert we had Pedro Ximenez strawberries, creme fraiche granita, and strawberry gelee, paired with 2014 Reserve Zinfandel. They were all extremely gracious and jovial with the opportunity to dine and talk with us.

The second day was a lot more relaxed than the crazy day prior! We met with Katie and visited a vineyard with 127 year old Zinfandel! The plot had at least a dozen different varieties scattered about, as the owner had invited neighbors from all over to plant the vines, so no one really knows all the varietals planted. We tasted the old vine Zinfandel, as well as old vine Alicante Bouschet. She took a sampling back to the winery, and we watched as she checked the brix levels of the grapes. 

To finish our time with St Francis, we took part in the 5 course pairing lunch they offer to the public. Joined by 6 other guests, we wined and dined! The first pairing was 2016 Sauvignon Blanc with pan seared day boat scallop with sorrel vichyssoise, and a house made chorizo and corn ragout. The second pairing was 2016 Rose with Rose compressed summer melons, goat cheese panna cotta, streusel, and spicy watermelon gelee. Next was 2014 old vine Zinfandel, with Yucatan style braised pork, Moors & Christians (which I learned to be rice and beans), mango-habanero salsa, and pickled red onion. (This was the best pairing in my opinion) Fourth was 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon with grilled flat iron steak, smoked crispy potatoes, tomatillo sauce, black garlic aioli, and garden greens. Lastly, we had 2014 Extended Age Chardonnay with brown sugar pavlova with roasted figs, saffron creme anglaise, candied almonds, and raspberries. It was all an explosion of flavor, but very well though out and planned. For our last planned winery in California, it was a great ending.

However, we were not entirely satisfied. As a last hurrah, a few of us went over to Emeritus, where a former Kopf winner was working! Their Pinot Noirs were some of the best I’ve ever tasted! Also, right nearby was Bohemian Creamery, which we had at LOLA with their wines! We decided to buy a bottle from Emeritus and some cheese at Bohemian as a last night hangout before we left.