My family came from Sicily and landed in New York. My Uncle
Mikey tells me that when he was little my Great-Grandfather used to make wine
in the apartment basement. He told me that he and my Uncle Johnny had to help. This was part of a story that he tells
regarding an apartment they had on 1st Ave in New York City. He says it was a
nice place on the Lower East Side. Further along down the story he tells of
them moving to another apartment a few blocks away, but also on 1st
AVE. Knowing that he said the first
place was nice, I asked him why they moved. His answer was that the basement
was bigger for Great-Grandpa’s winemaking.
As a child in the 1970s, we used to visit my
Great-Grandparents in their Brooklyn apartment off of 13th AVE. I
can still see it in detail in my mind. Huge family table with Great-Grandpa of
course at the head. He always had a giant jug of wine on the floor next to him.
When somebody needed a refill their glass was passed down the table to
Great-Grandpa and he would pour the wine. The glass was then passed back down
to whichever relative it belonged to. That jug never left his side. In speaking
with my mom’s younger brothers now, we all have the same memory. I had my own
glass of wine poured by Great-Grandpa. It was only a very very small amount,
but I had mine!
Let’s fast forward to the last few years in my life. I feel
the reason for my obsession is possibly because I lost my dad, possibly because
we are slowly losing the elders of our family, and I’m sure some other life
factors. Whatever the reason, I’ve had a strong pull to grab onto my roots and
hold tight. I’ve been doing this in a few different ways which I will share in
future posts. One way though is through Sicilian wine. That memory of my
Great-Grandfather has always stayed with me for a reason. I’m sure of this. So
I have been on a quest for Sicilian wines. Unfortunately, over the years it
wasn’t as easy to locate or learn about them. For me, the Italian wines from other regions we
always had and knew about. Don’t get me wrong, I love wines from all over Italy
as well. There are so many fabulous ones
and I don’t mean to discount them. I continue to drink and enjoy Italian wines
from all regions. Obviously,
I have a connection to Sicilian wine though. So, I jumped on the internet and read a couple of books on the subject. I
won’t bore you with all the details and frustrations I faced. I’ll just get to the point. I happily found a
nice selection that I have been excited about, and I’m still trying new ones.
This really doesn’t explain the obsession part yet. So here goes.
I was and am in search of the oldest vines and the vines
that are closest to my family town. Also, I look for the vineyards that stayed
as close to the old way of winemaking as possible. The thought of drinking wine
that grew grapes in the same dirt that my family drank wine or ate food from
set me on a mission. I’m not sure where this thought came from but it’s
something I’m pulled to do.
I have found some great wines, but I’m having a hard time
determining which vineyards actually have vines in what town. Often times the business is in one town but
there are a few vineyards in different locations that they grow their grapes
on. It’s a task, but I’m up for it.
The possibility of consuming from the same exact earth in
the same location my family did so many years ago overwhelms me. To be able to
hold up a glass of wine and say, “This wine came from the same land my family
ate and drank from.” brings me closer to them.
