Ciao bella! An introduction

 Since this is my first blog post, I thought that I would introduce myself!

I was born and raised in a small town in Maine. I grew up expressing my passions through dance. I was a ballerina from the age of 8 until I graduated high school. I had the amazing opportunity to go to Maine Central Institute and train under a brilliant Russian choreographer. While at the school I was able to meet people from all over the world, some who I still keep in touch with today.

Having the chance to get to know all of these wonderful people opened up my eyes to the world around me and proved to me that I had so much more to see than the small state in which I had lived my life in. At the age of 16 I was able to go with my fellow dancers to St. Petersburg Russia to perform. There is a lot more to that story that I may elaborate on at a future date...however for now I will say that it kick-started my wanderlust. 

After graduating high school I landed in Colorado. I spent 18 fantastic years in arguably the most beautiful state in the country. My young adult years I spent there molded me into the adventurous and independent person that I am today to which I am eternally grateful. 

In 2017 I took all of the years that I had spent in the hospitality industry (managing and bartending) and turned them into an introductory certification with the Court of Master Sommeliers. After that, my passion grew. I found a tasting group based in Boulder and began to study for the Certification exam. One of my friends in the group set me up with a family in Piemonte who he stayed with and worked on their family vineyard for harvest. That fall I arrived in Italy and fell in love!

From the first day I stepped foot in the beautiful vineyards in Italy I knew it was where I belonged. It was truly a life changing experience for me to walk along those vines and to taste the special fruit that makes such an intriguing concoction. From then on, I dedicated my life to finding a way to move to Italy for the rest of my days.

Finally this past year I pulled the rip chord. I left Colorado, which I still love, and moved back East to work my way towards my dream. Last fall, I spent 3 months in Toscana and Umbria learning the stunning language, rich history, and immersing myself in the culture of the people. I visited a lot of vineyards, met some wonderful people and consumed many glasses of unbelievable wine. Unfortunately, having no Italian descent, I had to come back to the States after my 90 day allotment. 

Since then I have been dedicating my studies to only Italian wine (along with assisting my parents with a home renovation!). When the VinItaly Academy came to New York City at the beginning of this month, I passed their certification to become an Italian Wine Ambassador. Up next, the Italian Wine Scholar Certification from the Wine Scholar Guild. In the next couple of months I will be returning to Italy to intern at a vineyard, all of which I will be blogging about!

My thoughts on creating this is to share some of my passions with you. Whether it is about the wine, the food, my path to my dream job or about the Italian language!