Hello to everybody!

I hope you are all doing well.

After a rainy autumn, winter temperatures have arrived and the weather forecast says that it will snow on Wednesday.

The day before botting, exactly as it did last year. So we are planning how to shovel snow in time to let the bottling machine arrive in the cellar.

Maybe it will have to arrive by sleigh like Santa Claus!

Cellar has been uppermost in our thoughts of the last months (but we have also had some satisfaction coming from the vineyards covered by sprouted field bean, pic1)

We have removed skins from the wines, joined tanks, labelled bottles with grapes boxes drying after the end-of-harvest washing, occupying half of the cellar.

Then we had to move back the second lot of Rosso 2020 and Barbera Superiore 2019 (pic 2, sorry but Michele couldn't smile on that day!) from the small cellar in the city to the "big" one for the new bottling, after less than 3 months...

We don't want to do all this useless, tiring, endless "moving things" anymore, we are both older than forty (!!) now. Before the next harvest we will definitely have to enlarge the cellar by using the courtyard which is just in front of the entrance.

A grant would help, but if we won't receive any, in the first year we will only do the floor.

A real step by step operation, as usual.

We haven't had the thrill of spending a lot of money for about 3 years now, and maybe we could get too relaxed, so let's start again!

The very happy thing is that you are all still there and that we can even meet now (pic3, from Mercato dei Vini a Piacenza, which year after year is becoming a real international wine fair)! We will not attend Vinitaly in 2022 for several reasons, but I hope there will be many other opportunities to meet.

We will be here, for instance: https://slowinefair.slowfood.it/en/

The rest of the time, you'll find us in Paderna.

Cheers,
Chiara and Michele

Hello dear friends of Oltretorrente,

Harvest 2021 is finished (pic1,2).

Vintage was similar to 2020: it rained and snowed during winter so that there was some water storage at the beginning of spring. Then it didn't rain anymore with hot summer temperatures.

We started the vegetative season with a huge quantity of bunches on the vines, we even had to do some green harvesting on timorasso but then we lost so much yield on barbera due to heat/drought and to a hail storm in July, that the final grapes quantity was the same as in 2020. Healthy fruit, full of intensity.

Fermentations are almost finished too: green manure for several years on all the vineyards is giving more nutrition to yeasts, they are definitely more fit! Hop hop hop!

Today we are starting the new field bean sowing so we have to motivate ourselves (pic 3)!

A very welcome incentive has arrived during harvest: the Slowine guide of 2022 has awarded us with a special prize that is given to wineries that represent the Slowfood values (Chiocciola) and with the recognition of Top Wine to Timorasso 2019. The Slowine guide is the only wine guide we are still sending bottles to, so we are very proud to have received the winery prize that to us was the most valuable.

In the meantime some of the vintages that are on sale have changed: Rosso and Timorasso are now 2020.

I really hope you'll find some time to come to Paderna and taste our wines together,

we miss you!!

Chiara and Michele

Hello everybody,

The holidays were fine, but we had to come back home to be ready for harvest. Many wild animals are helping us to be faster this year (Esopo was not wrong...You too!! Pic1), maybe we should just find a way to give them water and save grapes...

It was a very dry summer, so roe deers, wild boars (and foxes?!) are eating more grapes than usual to rehydrate. But that's not the worst grape damage we had (not yet): there was a hailstorm in late-July and a very hot week in August. The result of these climatic factors in some vineyards (especially barbera suffers a lot from high temperatures) would be a depressing picture, so I'll send you a funnier and interesting one about timorasso instead (Pic2).

If you look carefully into it, you'll notice that the vine on the left has not a single bunch, while the vine on the right has probably produced 15 kg of grapes (but obviously we had to cut off much of it). What a crazy, unpredictable variety it is!

Next Thursday, on our daughter Carlotta's birthday, we'll start picking up some barbera, then we'll stop for a birthday party and then there will probably be no rest: grape samples and damage evolution will guide us through the harvest map.

Let's get ready, then! (Pic3) Maybe cellophane should go on the camping van now...

Timorasso 2019 is sold out, let's talk about Timorasso 2020 then!

Thanks a lot for all your support,

ciao

Chiara and Michele

If you drove through downtown Durham much this winter, you might have observed some sense of normalcy occurring in a Washington St. parking lot, where party lights border a handful of picnic tables at Plum Southern Kitchen & Bar.  The new restaurant bravely opened its doors (and parking lot) in the middle of the pandemic, offering a brilliantly convivial picnic-style take-out experience.  The visionary behind this oasis is Lisa Callaghan, a Brooklyn transplant with North Carolina roots who is as sharp as she is kind.

Based in Brooklyn, Lisa was a long-time employee for All-Clad, traveling the country as Director of Culinary Relations.  Needless to say, her position meant spending a lot of time in restaurants.  It was during her frequent work trips that the dream of opening a restaurant took shape.  “I was in restaurants all the time.  And traveling alone as a woman was often uncomfortable.  All I wanted at the end of the day was a nice place to be able to relax and feel safe while enjoying a drink and some food alone at the bar. Places like that are so hard to find, sadly.”  Growing up in a culture and environment which taught her to defer to men, Lisa’s voice ached for its place at the table.  It was her deepest hope to be able to freely speak through a restaurant.   After thoroughly feeling out what it would take to create a female-friendly space in Williamsburg, it became clear that rent prices and ethos of NYC restaurant ownership would not allow Lisa to have the kind of impact she dreamed of with a restaurant of her own.

While it took a lot of letting go to move away from the Big Apple, Lisa saw in Durham a progressive community with a restaurant scene that was both exciting and accessible.  Here, Lisa’s dream of creating a welcoming, safe space for women became reality in Plum.  Indeed the girl power is evident--from frequent imaging of iconic women, to the fiercely femme management team behind the restaurant.  It only takes a short scroll through Plum’s Instagram feed to feel the heart and unapologetically female influence behind the place.  

As Plum emerges from the pandemic, Lisa looks forward to watching her restaurant fully blossom as bars and dining rooms fill back up.  Until then she continues to learn and serve her community one take-out/dine-in picnic at a time.  Thanks, Lisa, using your powerfully female voice to empower and invite in the women of our community!

I requested a Zoom meeting to keep things as safe as possible. “Yeah I can do that,” Amber said, “I’ve only done it twice before, but I think I can get it set up.”  Everything about this interaction--the refreshing, astounding fact that she has only ever had a couple of Zoom meetings, along with her willingness to make it happen--exudes who Amber Faulisi is and how she has been able to thrive as a mother and small restaurant owner during a year of pandemic.  Simplicity, good cheer, adaptability, and good old fashioned grit.

Before the pandemic, Amber’s days had a smooth, predictable rhythm: drop Dom (her 5 year-old son) off at preschool, get things set up at the Pizzeria Faulisi, pick him up at 12:30, return to the restaurant to oversee operations and service, and go home early.  Since closing down indoor dining in March 2020, Amber has had to take on virtually every role in the restaurant--from line-cook to dishwasher--while overseeing virtual kindergarten for Dom.  While Amber is at the pizzeria, her husband Zach Faulisi runs Big Dom’s Bagel Shop a few doors down.  Once it closes, he takes Dom home and Amber continues to run the restaurant.  “For me, knowing you have to keep pushing harder and stay in it all day [has allowed me to adapt.]  The hardest thing has been balancing everything.  Somehow I’ve done it, but I honestly don’t know how.”  For Amber it has never been a question of if or how she would cope, even thrive; she simply resolves to do so.  

The lack of nearby family and adherence to social distancing guidelines mean that Amber must largely shoulder the weight of keeping Pizzeria Faulisi afloat and caring for Dom during the day. She doesn’t see it as a cursed lot, though.  On the contrary, Amber allows this now-heavier load to act as a growth edge.  “When you just have yourself to rely on you have to learn how to be strong and independent.”

While Amber’s daily balancing act of work and parenting is extraordinary, it is by no means exceptional in these times.  Women everywhere disproportionately bear the weight of pandemic-imposed lifestyle changes and responsibilities.  Knowing she is not alone helps Amber keep such a positive outlook.  “Never give up.  Just keep pushing.  At some point it won’t be so hard.”

It strikes me how much outlook determines outcome.  Amber could just as likely (and rightfully) bemoan her long hours and heavy personal and professional loads.  Instead she forges on with optimism, humor and hope.  Seeing this so clearly in Amber, it is not surprising that despite all odds Pizzeria Faulisi has survived a year of quarantine.  I would suspect that her positivity is the force behind the enduring community that surrounds the restaurant. “[the greatest gift] is having our regulars, who we had connections with in the dining room, still show up every week.  We’ve always wanted to be a community restaurant and we got it.”  Kindness, she insists, goes a long way.

Looking at the year ahead, Amber has hopes of returning to some semblance of normal, where her son can see his classmates and grandparents in person, and where Pizzeria Faulisi’s beloved regulars can again enjoy their meals in the restaurant’s cozy dining room.  As she works to recoup lost revenue and create new avenues for business growth, Amber holds fast to the straightforward yet profound tenants that have kept Pizzeria Faulisi, and her, together: keeping it simple, kindness, teamwork, and remaining true to self.

This Women’s History Month story share is brought to you by PWI team member Amy Hallett.

Have you eaten @chickenhutdurham this week? That's what you should be asking yourself, and your friends and family. Here are three good reasons to go, and to keep going: 1. They fry your chicken to order and it is the crispiest you have ever tasted (highly recommend with bubbles!), plus their soul food sides and desserts satisfy your deepest cravings 2. When you support them you support their capacity to serve community members in need (I'm talking like 500 free meals a week) 3. It is a Black-owned family business that Claiborne Tapp, Jr. started in 1957 (!) and passed to his wife Peggy, and it continues to thrive today under the leadership of their son Tre because of their steadfast determination to survive. Urban renewal (i.e., government funded destruction of Black neighborhoods) threatened their business from the start but they didn't give up. We need to frequent these institutions that matter. To learn more about Durham's history of land and housing inequality the 'Uneven Ground, Dismantling Hayti' #bullcity150 link in our bio is essential reading.

Story written by Kate Elia. Photos taken by Kate Elia. @_kateelia_

https://www.bullcity150.org/uneven_ground/dismantling_hayti/

#blackhistorymonth #blackownedbusiness #blacklivesmatter #durhamtakeoutpledge #friedchicken #soulfood