For years, I’ve been dying to take my husband on an Italian adventure. I wanted us to fully immerse ourselves in the culture, eat the food, see vineyards, and experience all of the things that I love about Italy. This spring, I finally settled on Piemonte and Liguria, and from the beginning, I knew I wanted to visit our only producer along the Ligurian coast: Punta Crena.
     In early May, we arrived in the tiny seaside village of Varigotti and were greeted at the winery by Paolo Ruffino, whose family has tended the vineyards here for more than five hundred years. Paolo was excited to show us around and give us tastes from the tanks. They were scheduled to bottle my favorite wine of theirs, an aromatic dry white from the Pigato grape, the following day.
     We were also greeted with pouring rain and thunderstorms. I crossed my fingers and hoped we would still get to see the vineyards in between torrential downpours. I could hear Paolo and one of his sons talking about the logistics, and I saw them glance at my new white shoes. One hundred days of Duolingo had prepared me for this moment. I said, “Non ho paura! Posso lavare le mie scarpe.” (I’m not afraid! I can wash my shoes.) He agreed and directed us up the winding roads on the mountainside, where his Vermentino vines have the most beautiful view of the Ligurian Sea. When we reached the top, he showed us the nutrient-rich red clay where his Pigato and Rossese grow. Paolo was excited to show me how happy the Rossese vines are on top of that mountain. He pointed to where the vine was pruned and held up four fingers. Where they had pruned, four new shoots had grown. When I asked why the vines were trained to be so tall, he smiled and made a pig noise. It turns out wild boars love Rossese as much as we do!
     Paolo took us back to his home for coffee and his favorite grappa. We talked for hours, getting by on my poor Italian and his limited English. He has seven children, and they all live in that little village. He beamed from ear to ear as he showed me pictures of a family wedding from the weekend before and pictures of his first granddaughter. Like his smile, these wines express so much of the joy Paolo and his expansive family embody in their small corner of Liguria.
     Back at home, my clay-stained shoes and I will never be the same. With our visit to Italy tugging at my heartstrings and the delicate perfume of Pigato lingering on my palate, I can’t help but yearn for another taste of the Italian dream.