Grape Stomping

The grape is as synonymous with Italian life as fast food is to American life. So, when we found out about an opportunity to stomp on grapes I Love Lucy style we were beyond thrilled.

The day of our grape stomping adventure we boarded a bus and rode to the mountainous Benevento province. Benevento is part of the Campania region in which we live, but is nice contrast to our bustling, dirty Napoli province. Avalon, our final destination, is a members-only vineyard and dining club. We felt privileged to be guests.

The scenes from the vineyard were so beautiful, as is usually the case in Italy. The picturesque views are often something you have to see for yourself. No camera can truly capture the great Italian landscape. 

Once we were in the vineyard we got a quick tutorial and history of the Italian grape. We learned not to ever pick straight from the vine. Grapes must be cut in order to avoid damaging the vine. We also learned that the Italians of Benevento taught the French how to cultivate the Champagne grape (so they say). 

Once we began gathering the grapes AC could not keep them out of her mouth. What can I say, she loves her produce. Her mouth was constantly full!

Ok, some of her grapes actually did make it into the basket.

Parent's of toddlers know how important it is to explain things in detail. Case in point, when we reached the area where we'd be stomping on grapes AC started picking grapes off of her personal bunch and putting them on the ground. She thought we were just going to put grapes on the ground and stomp on them! Oh to be 2!

The children stomped on the grapes first (we are in Italy), and then the adults. It felt exactly like you would expect stomping on grapes to feel like: squishy!

After stomping the grapes, we went inside for an Italian lunch. A weekend Italian lunch can be anywhere from 4 to 8 courses, and lasts at least 2 hours. Our lunch was probably 8 courses and lasted a little over 3 hours. The lunch was served communal style which is very common in Italy. I personally love eating at a huge community table. The food was excellent (of course!), but the best part was the wine they had on tap. Chief had no problem keeping the wine on our end of the table filled to the brim. Needless to say, we were on the fun end of the table!

Three hour lunches are hard on little girls. Italian culture is very child centered, so they don't place unrealistic expectation on the children's behavior.

Ciao for now!