August 17 - How to Make Friends with the Help of Italian Wine

Okay. Let's talk about that precious bottle of wine.

I love wine.  Yoda-trainer can't talk me out of it, and he's pretty persuasive.  So what if I battle the bulge?  Fair trade. 

And it's one of the many things I love about Italy.  I've lived in California and am now in Oregon.  Good wines abound.  But somehow, American producers still don't get the value of affordable, every day wine.  I love the jugs you take to the local cantina or vineyard throughout Italy.  It's so….practical.  So...Italian.  And there is always room to enjoy a special treat, like a great super-Tuscan or record-breaking vintage.  

Now.  About bringing wine home.  I've been working and traveling internationally for years.  Logged a lot of miles.  Brought back plenty of local 'spirits' (Guatemalan rum comes to mind).  But wine?  It just doesn't like to fly.  Even before current carry-on rules, I had come to the conclusion that wine never tastes as good after it has been lugged, boiled and frozen on the way home.  

I buy ceramics (never ship it home).  I buy olive oil (it's a year fresher than what we get at home).  But wine?  Nope.   I've anticipated too many bottles that have been flops because of their mistreatment.  I am committed (meaning that I just thought this one up) to installing a private wine storage area for each of the co-owners in our fractional homes in Italy.  Solar-powered, if that's possible!

So exactly why did I shuffle off to that flight at 4:30am with two bottles in my carry-on mess?

Sleep deprivation.  Packing frenzy.  Suitcase malpractice (no expandable zippers?!).  I was thinking logically…not practically.  I thought…here I am in Volpaia.  I like this wine.  Oh, look!  A Bolgheri.  Sassicaisa's close relative.  Yum.  Can't pack it, it'll break and ruin my white linen dress.

So, when I was stopped at airport screening, I was actually…surprised.  Then mortified.  I mean, really!

I can't describe how I ended up with the expensive bottle, leaving my Volpaia in Italy.  But let's just say that my extravagance and passion were both "reverently accommodated".   I know now that it's because someone knew what I would face in Dutch security.  Oops.

When I arrived in Amsterdam and discovered the joke, I made my way to the airport casino, asked for a corkscrew, and made three new friends.  All also appropriately reverent, despite the hour.  And it was lovely.  Worth every Euro.

About Carrara, LLC

Carrara partners with owners of luxury vacation homes in Italy, managing the conversion and marketing of these beautiful homes to fractional, shared ownership vacation properties.  We also represent buyers seeking the lifestyle of a European home and the convenience of a professionally managed, shared investment.