Yanique's Digital Diary
I PASSED !!!!
From: Yanique Bradford
To: Karen H. Ward
Sent: Tue, Dec 1, 2009 12:19 pm
Subject: Re: The Final
I PASSED !!!! GRADUATION IS THIS FRIDAY at 8:30pm
ANTICIPATION!
November 30, 2009
My final was Friday. It was broken down into 2 parts. There was a 2 hour written (multiple choice, true-false, A LOT of short answer, a blind tasting analysis, and a food & wine analysis). Then we had the oral part. That was me sitting across from Luca Martini who is the #1 sommelier in all of Italy for 2009. He has a reputation for being a bit of a hazer. He has studied wine in several regions in the world. He knows his stuff and he was also one of our instructors during the program. My thoughts about the exam....the written WAS SOOOO HARD and the oral part WAS EVEN HARDER. I have been a nervous wreck since Friday. But today is the big day. The President of the Umbrian chapter of AIS should be arriving any minute with our scores. I will know today if I am graduating. Thanks for all the positive thoughts and energy!!! I will let you know the results as soon as I know. -Yanique
TABARRINI HARVEST & EXPERIENCE
October 17, 2009
We arrived at Tabarrini of Montefalco about 10:00am. Montefalco is south of Perugia in the heart of Umbria. It was partly cloudy and the air was cold and crisp. The morning fog that rolls down off the hills was still quite visible blanketing the valley. Our visit began with meeting the winemaker and proprietor Giampaolo Tabarrini. He was our host, teacher, and personal tour guide for the day. Starting in the winery we tasted from the steel tanks fresh pressed juice of the regional Trebbiano Spoletino grape as well as Sagrantino at various stages in the vinification process.
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PALAZZONE An Afternoon With the Winemaker
October 13, 2009
The story of “Il Palazzone” began in 1969 when a man named Angelo Dubini and his wife, the parents of current operators Giovanni and his brother Lodovico Dubini, came to Orvieto from Rome with some friends who were looking for a house. Giovanni’s father saw the abandoned land where Palazzone now sits and fell in love. One week later he sold his cows and bought the land. Besides the incredible view, one of the first things one notices is the main house. It was built in 1298 by Cardinal Teodorico Raniere at the request of Pope Boniface VIII. The 711 year old house served as a resting point for pilgrims on their way to Rome.
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Exploring Tuscany
October 6, 2009
I completed my course work for Level I of the Associazione Italiana Sommelier (AIS) as of Monday, October 5th. Level II classes were to begin the very next day but were postponed. We had an entire day off. So my classmates and I decided to set out for an adventure driving through Tuscany hoping to enjoy some tastings at a few wineries while driving through the heart of Chianti. The GPS in our car had other plans for us like getting us completely lost and taking us up and down rocky dirt roads in the rolling country hills. Normally one would be ready to toss the GPS out the window. But our frustrations we short lived. We were in beautiful Chianti!! It’s one of Italy’s famed regions that produce Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Carmignano, and one of my favorites Chianti Ruffino. Thankfully, we found our way back to pavement after a good amount of unexpected “off-roading”. As we headed down a hill we stopped to take in the view. The rolling hills look like a beautiful patchwork of different shades of greens made from vertical and horizontal rows of grapevines and olive groves all around. We came across a small winery named Fattoria Montagliari where we tasted through a few wines with the wine maker David Migliorini. I was especially fond of the ’85 Vin Santo Del Chianti Classico. Vin
Santo is a sweet wine that has been produced in Tuscany since the 14th century. Can I just say?.honey, dried fruits, and nutty goodness!!! This is an old world Holy Wine and is known as the wine of friendship and hospitality. If you enjoy sipping on a sweet wine this is defiantly one worth experiencing.
Ciao Yanique
EPICUREAN ESSAY
September 8, 2009
I knew wine would always be a part of my life after having my first port. It was love at first sip! That port experience along with my love for science served as catalysts for my fascination with everything grape related from the vine to the bottle. At my leisure I began reading about viticulture and viniculture gaining a respect for the art and craft of winemaking. A list of things to do was started which would grow into a rather ambitious list. Entry number one: work a harvest & find a winemaker who wouldn’t mind sharing their trade with an apprentice. I have yet to cross this of my list.
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