My Story
My Story
This last year has been an interesting one. I left Colorado last summer. It had been my home for over 18 years. I had a great group of friends, a job where I made great money, access to some of the most beautiful hiking trails anywhere in the country, and for some reason I wasn't happy. Were there days in which I felt happy and comfortable? Of course there were. But there were things missing. I was lonely for sure, I haven't had a relationship for years, so I was definitely lonely. But it wasn't just that, there was a piece missing that kept me from truly being happy.
About seven years ago I had started my road to becoming a sommelier. I had always loved wine and since I had worked in the restaurant industry for so long, I felt like I knew quite a bit about it. Needless to say, I knew nothing! I found an incredible group of people from Boulder that were kind enough to take me under their wings and help me learn as much as I was able to retain. I would spend almost every Sunday with them doing blind tastings which was absolutely life-changing in more than one way.
They taught me so much about wine itself. Where it comes from, what it tastes like and why. My confidence when I started with them was lacking greatly. I had never really gotten the chance to sit down and do a blind tasting with a handful of wines and break them down the way they did. To hear them speak of all the nuances, the hints of spice and the ability to transport you to a place that they can picture when they taste that particular wine. I was in complete awe.
It was because of them that I became a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. I know that I would not have been able to pass that test without them.
It was also because of them that I had my first experience of Italy. One of my friends had stayed with a family previously in Piemonte and gave me their information so I could do the same. I contacted his friend Matteo and things started falling into place.
At the same time one of my best friends, Lea who is from Germany, asked if I wanted to go with her to Oktoberfest in Munich. Who would say no to that?! I planned to go with them and then catch a train or bus to Piemonte to stay with Matteo and his family for a few weeks after. I was only emailing with Matteo's girlfriend, Teresea, prior to the trip and didn't have concrete plans when we left for Germany. I knew that if I was meant to go, it would work out, so I booked a plane ticket and off we went! Luckily the night before we were to come back to the states I got confirmation from Teresea for my stay with them. So I changed my plane ticket home for one a few weeks later and the next morning I was on a bus to Milan!
I might have not mentioned yet, that this was my first time in Europe and I was now by myself in a foreign country...
I found may way from Milan to Turin and next was to find a place to stay for the night. Matteo was to pick me up from the train station the next day in Ivrea, a very small town about an hour away from Turin. Luckily, transportation in Italy is very user friendly! Since I had never been overseas before, I did not have service or internet on my phone at this point, so when I got to Ivrea I stood there hoping someone would come to this tiny train station looking for me. If they didn't...I wasn't sure what I was going to do!
As I am sitting there, with no one else around, thinking about how crazy this trip was and slightly regretting my decision, up pulls a little blue car. A tall, slender man with short, dark brown, curly hair gets out and asks if I am Stacey! Hallelujah! He took me to his home in the northern Italian countryside and I fell in love.
The land, the vines, the food, the people, the wine, it was all incredible. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to be anywhere else. I spent three fabulous weeks helping his family harvest grapes, dry them for passito, and press them to begin the winemaking process. We would wake up early, have our caffè and fresh bread with homemade jam and then get to work. It was a family affair. His father, aunt and uncle all assisted in the harvesting and his mother stayed at the villa to make lunch for us all. It was a feast for the eyes and the stomach. They would put together tables with slats of wood, throw a tablecloth on them and grab whatever bench or chairs they could. In the center of the table were mutiple bottles of homemade cabernet sauvignon made from 150 year old vines that they did not sell to the public, fresh vegetable from the garden, beef from the cows next door and of course pasta! I tried pieces of the cow that I never had before, and evey piece was just as delicious as the last! I knew that this was a glimpse into my future. I did not know yet how I was going to acheive it, but this was to be my final destination.
Those 3 weeks were gone as fast as they came, and before I knew it, I was back home in the States. Going back to a job that was unfulfilling with a spirit that did not feel whole. I went back to my life just as it was prior to the trip, but now I had a goal. My next move would be to Italy, with the goal of never coming back. But where do I start?
It took a long time, and the main issue was making enough money for the move. I knew I couldn't pick up everything and move to another country without it. So for a couple of years, that was my focus. Then covid19 reared its ugly head. Just like the rest of the world, I was put on furlough from my job. What was going to happen now? I spent my days in the mountains hiking which gave me the space and time to think about my future and it was making me a little stir crazy! Luckily I was only away from work for seven months, and when I went back I was making even more money than before. The next couple of years I took my mother and father, separately, to Italy with me to explore the country again. It had been a few years since I had been there and I wanted to see more. I went to Rome, Orvieto, Montepulciano and other places that are important to the wine industry in Italy. The last time I went with my father in 2022, we were in Montepulciano and I had seen a school for the Italian Language in town. That started me on a path. 2023 was it. My apartment lease was ending and they were increasing my rent, again, and not by a few dollars. The only thing still holding me back was my kitty, Marley. I had gotten Marley the first summer I moved to Colorado and we had been through a lot over those 18 years. At his age, I could tell his health was declining and I wasn't sure how to move with him. I didn't think he would be able to handle such a drastic move and change in his life. Then, as if he was letting me go and pursue my dreams, he got sick and I had to put him down. I'm always going to remember those last few moments I got to hold him and tell him that I loved him while looking into his big brown eyes. His look mirrored mine as I think we both knew our time together was ending. He was my baby, and he was the one constant love that I had in my life for almost two decades. I took it as a sign, it was time to leave. I gave my letter of resignation to work and told my apartment complex I was moving out.
If you have never moved across the country with only what can fit into a car- it is really hard to decide what to keep and what to get rid of! Whatever fit in the car could come and everything else had to go. Its an odd feeling knowing that everything you own now is only in a handful of boxes, but how much stuff do you really need? A few short months later, my friend Traci and I drove to my parents house in Maine. I really did not want to drive that far all alone, and I will be forever grateful to Traci for willingly taking the drive with me! Less than a month later I was on my way to Italy with a one way ticket, hoping for the best possible outcome.
The flight really isn't so bad from the East Coast. I was flying from Boston to Paris, then hoping on a short flight to Florence. My final destination: the stunning, medieval hilltop village of Montepulciano.
Over the next 3 weeks, I had classes in the morning and early afternoon, homework and excursions in the afternoon. Il Sasso Language School is wonderful. I met some incredible people, from the fellow students to the teachers all of whom I consider my friends now. For those who do not know much about me, I like the power that the unknown has. I do not plan too far ahead because I like to keep my options open. So I booked another place in town for the last week in which I did not have class so I could do some more exploring on my own. During this time I had also began to send out resumes and contacts to the vineyards in the area, with little luck. But all was not lost!
A friend and his wife who were taking language classes as well have a house about 40 minutes away from Montepulciano. They are both sound engineers in the movie industry and had to be in New York for about a month that next week and were looking for someone to watch their dogs for them while they were gone. And well, I didn't have a place to stay that week or after! You know when people say things happen for a reason, I believe that with all of my heart. This was an example of that working in my favor! The next day I rented a car and headed down to their beautiful home in the village of Monteleone d'Orvieto. This town is a quintessential small Italian hamlet. Only a corner store, one restaurant and many locals who call the town home. For the next 5 weeks I got to spend my time exploring the Umbrian countryside, meeting wonderful people in town and wine tasting at various vineyards nearby. And although I was still not able to find a job, I made a lot of connections and was able to practice speaking the language with the locals in the small town.
Upon the return of my friends, I headed to Siena and Firenze for another week before returning to the states. Unfortunately due to my inability to find a job, all I had was an American passport which only allows visits for 90 days at a time, and my three months were coming to an end.
Siena is an interesting town. It houses a large international university so there are people from all over the world walking around the town, all the time. The feeling of an Italian village is not quite there in my opinion, but that's not to say it isn't beautiful! On a previous trip out, my mother and I had gone to see the town of Bagnoregio which is almost abandoned and you have to walk across a half mile pedestrian bridge in order to see it. It was incredible! And while in Siena I saw something similar nearby. A town called Monteriggioni. Sitting atop a hill, Monteriggioni has 14 towers built into the wall surrounding it making it look like a crown on the hill. The vision of it was even mentioned in Dante's Inferno. After walking around, I found a enoteca and decided to have a wine tasting in the piazza. Because, perche no?!
I was helped by a young man named Maurizio. He was wonderful and humored me by speaking in Italian with me which I was trying to do with the best of my ability. While I was looking through their brochure of wines, I saw that they had horseback riding through their vineyards. And who wouldn't want to ride a horse through the vineyards in Tuscany?? While sitting there with a glass of their Arteliquida artisan whites, I went online and booked a ride for the next day, which also happened to be my last in Siena. I said my goodbyes and went back to my apartment for the evening to pack up.
The next day I was very excited. I had ridden a horse a few times before on my uncles ranch in Colorado and loved it. I found the address to the winery and a bus that would drop me off at their front door. It was about a fifteen minute ride to the winery. Upon arriving however, it was a construction site in the middle of nowhere! Luckily there was a man working out front and I asked him where the winery was. He pointed to a door around the corner of a building and I headed inside.
The women working inside spoke english (she was from Australia) and I explained to her why I was there. Apparently, the reservation did not go through the system properly and they had no idea that I was coming. And not only that, but the stables were a few miles away from where we were! The woman who looked to be in charge, Seila, apologized for the mix up and offered me a ride to the stables since I did not have a car. On the way over, I got to speak to her about why I was in town and what I was hoping to do in the future. Upon hearing my story, she looked at me and said "you should come work with us next year!" I was dumbfounded! I had met this woman just minutes earlier, and here she was telling me that I would be perfect to come out and help them for the next season! Remember what I said about things happening for a reason? This was my last day in Siena and only a few days before I was to head back home!
She gave me her number and dropped me off with Melissa at the stables for my ride and told me to keep in touch.
After a beautiful ride with a couple from the US, I gathered my things and went to Firenze for my last couple of days.
Coming back to America after almost 3 months was bittersweet. It was nice to be able to come home and spend some quality time with my family. For context, I went to a semi private high school and lived in a dorm at 14. Since then I haven't spent more than a couple of weeks at home. At this point, since I still have not gotten a job, I would have to stay in the states for at least 3 months before I would be allowed back in to Europe.
I had the chance to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with my parents, my sister and her two kiddos. My niece and nephew are so special to me and I love to see them whenever I can. Even with living across the country from them I was always just a video call or chat away from them. I saw my niece perform in her school's version of Chicago and Six (in which she was Anne Boelyn!). I also was able to help renovate my grandparents house that my parents bought after they passed a couple of years ago. I also got to see my Aunt when she was brought into the hospital when they found a brain tumor. I got to spend some time with her before her passing only a couple of months after her surgery. It was precious time that I was so happy to get with her and my uncle. Again, all things that I could not have done if I was not in the country!
I also added to my credentials. After a couple months of studying, I received the Italian Wine Scholar certification with the Wine Scholar Guild. I also went to New York and passed the certification test to become and Italian Wine Ambassador with VinItaly. It felt great to be able to accomplish all of these things...but I am so ready to get back to Italy!!
Since meeting Seila, she gave me the contact for her boss, the owner and winemaker at Monte Chiaro Organic Farm and Winery, Alessandro. I have since gotten everything worked out so that I can work with them this summer. Unfortunately, this is only an internship so I only have the 3 months again....but who know what will happen!
Because, believe me, everything happens for a reason...
A presto...Salute!
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