Holy Cannoli! The Adventures of the Sweet Couple

Yesterday, we went into the fields to learn about the vineyard, something I had been looking forward to. In coming to a winery, I was more interested in the production of wine and the fields than in the cooking. I am happy to be in a kitchen some days, but I really enjoy learning about something I feel I do not know enough about. When in the associate's program at school, we had to take a 3-week wines class that really just touched the surface of the world of wine, but it was enough to interest me. This played into my decision into coming here to study for 3 weeks.  Right now is when the vines are pruned, as they will begin growing shortly. The red grapes are pruned to have 2 buds per branch, while the white, like Chardonnay, has 3 buds per branch. This is because the red grapes need a better quality to produce a richer wine, while the white is a little more about quantity and freshness.   This little red looking tie is to help with insects. The vineyard is ...

The First Few Days at Winery Tormaresca If you have been following our journey so far, you know that Logan and I began a mini "externship" last Wednesday. We chose to study at Winery Tormaresca located in Minervino Puglia. We are about three and a half hours from Ugento, where we studied for twelve weeks. Since being here, we have had one day of work, a snow day, and a weekend. Here is what we have experienced thus far:  On our first day, we worked in the kitchen on the estate for a banquet, hosting eight people. The chef, Laura, had us do a lot of different things from making focaccia to slicing potatoes. I started the day with making a focaccia that uses "burnt" flour; this is a flour turned to "ash" by baking it at a high temperature. It contributes a unique flavor to the focaccia unlike any other. I was very excited to make this as when we visited with our class about a month ago, we had this delicious focaccia. It is pretty simple to make a...