WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:04.480 The topics and opinions expressed on the following show are solely those of the hosts 2 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:08.279 and their guests, and not those of W FOURWN Radio It's employees or affiliates. 3 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:12.119 We make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services, or 4 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:16.559 products mentioned on air or on our web. No liability explicit or implies shall 5 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:21.000 be extended to W FOURWN Radio It's employees or affiliates. Any questions or comments 6 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:37.600 should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing W FOURWN Radio. 7 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:48.520 Many of you follow my husband David Ransom and I as we travel throughout 8 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:55.799 Sicily and Italy and Europe, and we love Sicily and this show is dedicated 9 00:00:55.880 --> 00:01:00.840 to Sicily because we can't get enough of it, and apparently America cannot get 10 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:07.359 enough of Sicily either, because there have been numerous shows about Sicily, White 11 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:12.879 Lotus being the most recent that have attracted people to Sicily. But there is 12 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:18.560 a lot of Sicily to discover and a lot of people just head straight to 13 00:01:18.599 --> 00:01:23.799 the coast. Well, my guest today is going to show you not only 14 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:29.040 how beautiful Sicily is coast to coast, but where she lives is in the 15 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:36.400 center the heart of Sicily and truly one of the most beautiful and pure areas 16 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:42.439 I have visited. The winery is called Fayuta Montoni, and Melissa Mueller is 17 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:48.640 the co proprietor with her husband Fabio Sarecchi. She is not only a co 18 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:53.719 proprietor, but she had formerly owned a couple of restaurants dedicated to Sicilian food 19 00:01:53.719 --> 00:02:00.840 in New York and the author of a terrific book on Sicily called Sicily Recipes 20 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:07.640 Rooted in Tradition. Having come to know Melissa and having visited they to Montoni 21 00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:12.039 myself, we can share with you the fact that she is probably one of 22 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:15.599 the most knowledgeable people on Sicilian food and culture today. And you are going 23 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:20.680 to love this show because we're going to dive into and take you by the 24 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:24.560 hand through the airwaves to Sicily so you can experience it and think about what 25 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:29.400 you can do to enjoy Sicily in your home, but also plan a visit. 26 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:32.439 Melissa. Welcome. Thank you, Melanie. It's such an honored to 27 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:38.280 be on your show, and also I'm very touched and fluttered by your lovely 28 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:43.560 introduction. Well, you have an amazing background, so we always like to 29 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:47.520 start with that you grew up in America, but you have Sicilian heritage, 30 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:53.919 So talk about your childhood and your heritage and how you ended up finding that 31 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:58.639 powerful reconnection back to your roots. Well, I must say that my whole 32 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:01.680 life has revolved around Sicily, either from living here now for the past ten 33 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:07.599 years, or just when I was away or what I call in exile from 34 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:12.479 Sicily and growing up in the New York, New Jersey area, where I 35 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:15.919 basically dedicated everything in my life to the island of Sicily. From a very 36 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:22.199 young age, I grew up coming every summer to my grandmother's village, which 37 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:27.039 is in the province of Agrigento on the southern coast of Sicily, a small 38 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:30.680 village called Santana, small in the sense that there's about four hundred inhabitants. 39 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:37.280 It's a direct contrast to Manhattan, where I grew up. Basically, the 40 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:40.199 love of Sicily that I have comes from that young age, and as a 41 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:46.080 child, I wanted to recreate in our home the perfumes and the smells and 42 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:51.280 the sensations that I felt around Sicily. So I started cooking at a very 43 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:57.080 young age, and my love of ingredients and recipes starts at that time. 44 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.400 But then as I grew up, I realized that I wanted to focus more 45 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:06.000 on the culture and the food culture of Sicily, not just on ingredients and 46 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:12.599 on cooking, but basically, what I felt was that food and Sicilian food 47 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:17.199 was a means for me to understand the culture and the history of these people 48 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:23.839 that I felt so connected with. So I started studying anthropology with a focus 49 00:04:23.879 --> 00:04:29.879 on Mediterranean food culture. And I say Mediterranean because I felt to understand Sicily, 50 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:32.720 I needed to look at it in its broad context. So I studied 51 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:40.160 all the various regions and history and culture of surrounding Sicily, not only Sicily 52 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:44.639 itself. The love of Sicily only kept growing. So when I finished my 53 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:48.839 undergrad degree, before I moved on to my postgraduate degree, my goal was 54 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:54.240 to somehow find a way to represent Sicily. I started writing, I started 55 00:04:54.279 --> 00:04:59.639 looking at different ways to do so. But September eleventh happened and I was 56 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:03.839 two, and so many restaurants, as we all know in Manhattan, couldn't 57 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:09.079 make it at that time, and there was a very small restaurant on Bleaker 58 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:14.240 Street, Bleaker and McDougall in the village that was for sale, and I 59 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:17.360 came home to my father. My father was a lawyer. His dream for 60 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:21.879 me was to after my undergrad degree, to obviously get my law degree and 61 00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:27.079 work with him. I'm an only child, and that was his vision in 62 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:29.800 his dream. But I knew that, and I felt inside me that that 63 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:34.439 wasn't my calling and I wanted to focus on representing Sicily. I still didn't 64 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:41.240 exactly know how, but when September eleventh happened and the possibility to open a 65 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:44.680 restaurant, it seemed like a joke almost in my home, but I announced 66 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:47.279 that I'm going to open a restaurant on Bleaker Street, and that's how I 67 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:53.199 got involved in the restaurant business. With this opportunity to open very small restaurant 68 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:56.480 where I cooked dishes that I had grown up with, it was like a 69 00:05:56.759 --> 00:06:00.959 laboratory for me, a place that I could experiment every thing I had studied 70 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:05.800 and show people that Sicily and Sicilian food is not spaghetti and meatballs, is 71 00:06:05.879 --> 00:06:12.120 not a scene from the Godfather film. It's with no disrespect to a film 72 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:15.839 that's artistically beautiful and well made, but that's not what Sicily is. So 73 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:21.120 I felt that that was my calling to change that stereotype, and in my 74 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:26.399 small part, I think I contributed to that. After the first restaurant, 75 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:31.319 the least had finished there and I decided to start my post graduate studies. 76 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.879 At the same time, though, I was so driven to still be in 77 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:41.240 the restaurant business because I loved so much this idea of representing Sicily, and 78 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:47.560 also I enjoyed the interaction with fellow New Yorkers and creating relationships with people in 79 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:51.720 the neighborhood and sharing the dishes with them and my stories about Sicily. For 80 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:57.839 me, everything is about telling the stories and explaining the sensations and the emotions 81 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:01.680 of Sicily. So time will take Viously, I opened up a second restaurant, 82 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:05.759 Aolo, which was in Chelsea on the seventh Avenue in twenty first Street, 83 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:10.920 and then after that a third restaurant called Pastai on ninth Avenue. What 84 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:14.439 was the name of the first restaurant, Melissa. The first restaurant was called 85 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:19.079 Ostidia that Gallonado. There was a whole story behind the black Rooster, which 86 00:07:19.079 --> 00:07:24.759 technically is associated with Tuscany, but it was a story that led back to 87 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:29.079 my childhood in Sicily, and I cooked the dishes that I had grown up 88 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:32.439 with basically, but it wasn't enough because I knew that in order to represent 89 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:36.560 Sicily, I needed to keep studying, keep researching, and really turned back 90 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:44.040 to the academic world and also a world where I could represent a background and 91 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:48.680 the ammunition to be able to represent Sicily in terms of writing in a way 92 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:55.199 that was more writing for a public audience. So that's where I studied at 93 00:07:55.240 --> 00:08:00.879 the Columbia University Journalism School. You know, I of the fact that you 94 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:07.959 have approached your life and your life calling through family, heritage, cultural anthropology 95 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:13.199 and writing all connected through food. You know, it's interesting your life could 96 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:15.680 be a movie. There are a lot of movies that have been filmed in 97 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:20.040 Sicily, and what you said that kind of was interesting to me is growing 98 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:24.399 up the image of Sicily was not always positive. You know, The Godfather 99 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:28.600 wonderful movie, but you know it's about the mafia, and you know, 100 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:33.480 Sicily was portrayed is poor, corrupt, beautiful, but there were problems and 101 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:41.080 unfortunately it also translated to other aspects of business there. Obviously, the mafia, 102 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.720 as I learned because we went to the No Mafia Museum in Palermo, 103 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:48.600 did have a ironclad control over Sicily. Until finally it was driven out. 104 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:52.200 It's sadly somewhere else, but and a lot of it. I also learned 105 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:58.399 they have these wineries that were we captured and reclassified that were formerly owned by 106 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:05.720 the money. Was a huge amount of change that happened Sicily during this time, 107 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:11.039 and during your research also underwent a bit of a revolution in terms of 108 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:15.840 coming to Reckoning with itself as a place to visit and its industry in the 109 00:09:15.879 --> 00:09:18.720 wine industry for sure, in the tourism and others. A lot of things 110 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:24.720 changed to help change that image. And thankfully more and positive things are being 111 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:28.159 shown and written about Sicily, and the movies are great, and everybody's saying 112 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:31.000 Indiana Jones. And as you did your regent, what did you learn that 113 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:35.720 changed about Sicily? What stay the same, but also what changed for the 114 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:39.200 good? Well, I remember we could just go back a little bit too. 115 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:43.799 When I had the second restaurant, I opened up the restaurants saying it's 116 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:48.440 a Sicilian restaurant with classic Sicilian dishes and the wine list that was only exclusively 117 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:54.200 Sicilian. And now we're talking about twenty twenty eleven, and at the time 118 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:58.480 I would say about half of the people that came would get up from the 119 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:03.639 table, go to the near by liquor store and purchase a bottle of Chianti 120 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:09.320 or Brunello or a wine that was non Sicilian and come back to pay the 121 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:13.320 corkage fee because they were so uninterested, you know what I mean. It 122 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:18.440 was amazing, and I was very discouraged initially because I said, I want 123 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:24.559 to only represent Sicily and here people don't even want to try the Sicilian wines. 124 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:30.120 Then after the first few years, there was this major shift because all 125 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:35.120 of a sudden, Sicilian wines became the wines to try. The media was 126 00:10:35.159 --> 00:10:39.200 full of talking about Sicilian wines, especially with giving a focus to Etna, 127 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:43.799 and all of a sudden things changed and people would come and search out the 128 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:48.759 restaurant just because I had the Sicilian wine list. And I found that very 129 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:52.840 interesting because it really is something that reflects also the tourism of today. It's 130 00:10:52.960 --> 00:11:00.399 the recreating of what Sicily is. And like you said, there's the show 131 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:03.960 that the White Lotus that's contributed to a lot of tourism. It's the way 132 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:09.080 that it's now being represented, and it's completely different than what I had studied 133 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:15.919 and what I had put together from the past decade of what of how Sicily 134 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:22.480 was represented. So I think that today there's such a major fluctuation of tourism 135 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:26.360 to the islands and everyone wanting to come here. However, it's the coastal 136 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:31.960 areas that get the tourism. Where we live is in the center of the 137 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:35.399 island, where our farm is, where in the mountains of the center of 138 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:39.840 Sicily, and it's absolutely an area where tourists don't come, but you do 139 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:45.480 see people come that want to explore, that want to really get to know 140 00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:50.320 what the old Sicily was and is today. Well, I've actually spent more 141 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:54.279 time in the center of Sicily than in the coast because I'm blessed to go 142 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:58.519 on wine trips that have taken me there. You met your husband, you 143 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:03.279 were buying his wine, right. What happened was I was researching for my 144 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:07.879 book and I wanted to visit wineries in different areas. For example, I 145 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:13.080 didn't know that Sicily has nine provinces. I knew my area of Sicily. 146 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:16.960 I had, of course done so much research, but I really needed to 147 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:20.240 get to know firsthand all the different areas in order to be able to represent 148 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:24.080 it in a book form. Because it's Ali said to me, can you 149 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:28.840 write an encyclopedia about a Sicilian cuisine, to which I answered no, because 150 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:33.879 encyclopedia would take a hundred volumes and multiple lifetimes. But I can write a 151 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:37.039 good summary of of what it is. But in order to do that, 152 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:41.200 I realized that I needed to really travel, and with the restaurants, it 153 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:45.399 wasn't easy, but every two months I would leave and come to Sicily for 154 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:50.639 ten days and do very intense research trips. So if I would go to 155 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.600 an area that I didn't know where the best honeymaker was or where the cheese 156 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:58.840 was made, I would stop first at the different wineries. So I visited 157 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:03.759 so many wineries, of which I had the wines at my restaurant with failed 158 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:07.759 in Montoni. I was introduced to the wines. The first time I tried 159 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:13.600 Ruga and Nero Davola was through master of wine Bill Nesto and his wife Francis 160 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:18.320 di Savino, who wrote the World of Sicilian Wine, And as they were 161 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:22.360 releasing the book, they came to eat at my restaurant and brought me a 162 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:24.679 bottle, and they were enjoying a bottle of the wine at their table and 163 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:28.480 had me taste it with them, and I remember feeling that it was so 164 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:33.879 different, this freshness. It didn't feel like a Sicilian wine. So I 165 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:37.679 was very struck by it, and I had to come to Montoni. I 166 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:41.799 knew that sooner or later that was part of my agenda for my research for 167 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:45.120 the book. And my husband, of course at the time, wasn't my 168 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:48.720 husband. He kept saying no, because when the importer at the time would 169 00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:52.120 say there's someone writing a book, he would say, well, I don't 170 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:54.200 you know, I really don't have time because he's very hands on on the 171 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:58.720 farm, on the vineyards. And for about two years that meeting never happened, 172 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:01.320 and I didn't know he was saying no. I didn't even though he 173 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:07.039 was didn't know he was here. I just knew it was failed to Montoni 174 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:09.919 that I was visiting. And that day, of course changed my life because 175 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:16.960 my first moment of meeting him was also my first moment of meeting failed to 176 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:22.879 Montoni and meeting the land of failed to Montoni, where I felt that I 177 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:26.240 just couldn't leave and I fell in love with him, which took time of 178 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:30.279 the two of us getting to know each other. It was love at first 179 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:33.159 sight, but it was getting to know each other over a long period of 180 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:39.120 time, especially from a distance, but Montoni was That feeling of seeing Montoni 181 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:41.919 could never never leave my heart. And I remember one day he said to 182 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:46.440 me, after about a year and a half of us knowing each other through 183 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:50.879 telephone calls and through multiple visits for the book, he said to me, 184 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:54.080 if you really want to visit for the harvest? Because I expressed a desire 185 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:56.919 to come to visit for the harvest, He said, the only way to 186 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:03.159 understand what that even means is to spend three hundred and sixty five days a 187 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:09.039 year and to live every day on the farm and to understand the culmination which 188 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:13.480 is this harvest. And of course it was a love proposal on his end, 189 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:18.399 but it was so true because every day counts into what goes into the 190 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:24.320 great harvest, the wines being made, and to this sale of the wines 191 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:28.200 that we craft here. So I'm glad I took him up on his offer. 192 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:31.320 And how long ago was that, Melissa, It was about a decade 193 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:37.120 ago, nearly close to a decade ago at this point now, and Vintoni 194 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:41.639 one of the most ancient wineries in Sicily. You're talking about quite old, 195 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:46.759 dating to fourteen sixty nine. So we're in it. And the property is 196 00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:52.440 an estate, a beautiful estate that you've lovingly kept renovating. It's an ongoing 197 00:15:52.679 --> 00:16:00.200 love of renovation. As we saw way there. How did Fabio's family they 198 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:06.879 come to own Fyoda Montani, Well, Mike, you said, the wideries 199 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:10.960 founded in fourteen sixty nine, and it was founded by a noble family of 200 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:15.639 at the time in Sicily was under Aragonese rule. It passed hands many times, 201 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:23.440 always within the aristocratic realm, and the owner prior to Fabio's grandfather was 202 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:32.399 a baron who was the Cardinal of Catania. He also owns lands on Edna 203 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:40.600 and around this in around Syracuse, Syracusa, Syracuse, and he sold the 204 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:45.799 property to my husband's grandfather in the late eighteen hundreds. Basically at the time, 205 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:51.879 this was right after unification of Italy, and there was a major decadence 206 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:59.639 and fall of the aristocratic class and the rise of the bourgeois class, of 207 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:07.960 the working class of of of Sicily. So it was possible at that time 208 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:14.440 for and what happened often was large fail those which are failed. Me is 209 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:19.640 comes from the word feudalism, so basically of the basically where large expanses of 210 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:26.440 land where we're under control, under the control of one owner, he became 211 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:33.559 he became the owner of the land and basically that he passed that into the 212 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:40.000 hands of my father in law. And then now the third generation is Scabule 213 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:44.680 and this is a The wines are extraordinary, and I'm going to underscore that 214 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:49.119 you do not tasted a lot of Sicilian wines, and universally everybody goes wow 215 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:53.279 because there is such a sense of place. And when you're sipping the wines 216 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:57.680 of Fyoto Montoni, you're sipping a sense of place. But that also goes 217 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:03.000 to everything there. Because we had punch with you as the food was this 218 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:07.960 amazing Sicilian lunch, I'm still thinking about it because I'm craving the foods of 219 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:11.680 Sicily right now and wines, which once I said before we started going on 220 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.599 air, we're kind of in a food desert here when it comes to certain 221 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:19.680 types of food where we're living temporarily right now. What percentage of your working 222 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:25.039 farm is dedicated to your vineyards, but also what else do you cultivate? 223 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:27.920 Because you are a full working farm and it is all hands on, it's 224 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:32.839 all very hands on here on the farm. A third of the land is 225 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:36.559 dedicated to the vineyard, so you can imagine it like the vineyard in the 226 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:42.240 center, and then it's surrounded by a ring that is grain fields that we 227 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:48.160 rotate with legum, fields like lentils and like chickpeas. All the grains we 228 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:55.400 only grow heritage grains. I should also say that we're very rigorously an organic 229 00:18:55.480 --> 00:18:59.799 farm, so that is very influential on our decisions of what we grow, 230 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:03.759 how we and how we grow them. So hence the heritage grange, which 231 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:11.079 would do very well in organic. We also cultivate tomatoes and with the grain 232 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:15.240 we make pasta. We also have olive groves. So I could go on 233 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.480 and on. There's many different realities here on the farm, but yet everything 234 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:23.119 is run by Fabio and I with a lot of love and a lot of 235 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:29.319 time and all of our all of our energy put into it. How do 236 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:33.319 you debate up your responsibilities because you're also you also are parents to two young 237 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:40.079 children. Yes, we're parents to Elio and Francesco, who are three years 238 00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:45.839 old and one year old respectively. Through not even three Elio and they just 239 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:49.839 thrive on the farm. You can imagine we have a beach home and we 240 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:53.839 could be at the beach every day day. And of course Fabio and I 241 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:57.920 want to be Fabio and I want to be on the farm and we want 242 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:02.319 to check the Viindia to day and check the fields and be a part of 243 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:06.920 it actively. And we don't want to we don't want to manage it from 244 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:10.200 afar. That's not what we what we intend to do. But you could 245 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:12.960 see even in Elio, who is so young, but he loves it. 246 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:17.160 He doesn't care about being at the beach. He wants to be in the 247 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:19.759 land and on the farm and with his little hole in the vineyard. Or 248 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:26.319 today he helped us, be helped in what he could do, but he 249 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:32.400 helped us with loading a container of wine that was leaving for New York. 250 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:37.920 And it's just beautiful to see his being so active and excited about being part 251 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:44.880 of the farm. Well, I want to touch on the wine and the 252 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:48.400 food. I'm going to start with the wine because I actually your wines are 253 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:53.000 widely available in the United States and we taste it through many and you have 254 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:56.880 I mean, what's interesting is there are vines that are pre philox era. 255 00:20:56.200 --> 00:21:03.079 I mean, you know, very old vine vines. For someone who listeners 256 00:21:03.079 --> 00:21:08.920 who may be somewhat familiar with Sicilia wines, let's talk about a few of 257 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:15.720 the wines. Most because Wilson Daniels is your importer and I'm on the site, 258 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:22.319 are available here. But let's talk about some given your location in Sicily, 259 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:29.000 what some of the wines are that set you feel set Fioda Montoni apart. 260 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:32.839 Obviously, I referenced the prefiloxera vine, the Kara bukara, which is 261 00:21:32.839 --> 00:21:37.599 one sure, sure, sure, the prefiloxa are vines are. It's very 262 00:21:37.640 --> 00:21:45.640 interesting because these are vines that were on the property when when Fabio's grandfather purchased 263 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:49.359 the land in the end of the eighteen hundreds, So they are very old 264 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:56.000 vines that still produce and actually produce a fair amount of grapes. They're nettle 265 00:21:56.079 --> 00:22:03.039 dabola grapes, and we have some pre filoxor vines. Of all of the 266 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:08.680 different types of grapes that we grow on the property, the only one that 267 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:12.720 we have an abundance of, or to two hectares of that we can bottle 268 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:19.440 is the needle doabola. But there's also catato and in zeolia and petty corne 269 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:26.480 and Nedelo mascalais interestingly enough, Yeah, the Nedelo mascalaise, because of course 270 00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:33.160 it's it's associated with Etna. But those vines were brought here when the Cardinal 271 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:37.359 of Catania who owns the lands, the prior owner, when he owned the 272 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:41.640 lands on Etna, he had an agronomist who worked for him, and the 273 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:48.440 agronomist father was also a priest, father Nellia, which interest interestingly means fog 274 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:52.400 in Italian. He would go back and forth with vines from here, which 275 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:56.799 the needle dobla is known as calabreze, and he would bring those calabreze vines 276 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:02.960 to the Etna and the Sidacus area, and he brought Neda lo mascalze here. 277 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:08.400 Interesting, and today we produced wines that are from vines that were grafted 278 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:15.759 off the prefiloxeta, the prefiloxead Lomascalze and vines. It's very unusual and it 279 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:21.000 has a different expression here than it doesn't Na. But it has maybe a 280 00:23:21.079 --> 00:23:26.319 little less austere, a little more floral notes. You can feel it's Neda 281 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:30.400 lomascaleze, and you can see in the color and in the and in the 282 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:36.160 the body and the style of the wine but it's but definitely has some notes 283 00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:41.039 that that distinguish it from being a ned lomascalz from Edna. And we we 284 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:48.359 finally started bottling that wine because my husband was a little bit he wasn't so 285 00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:52.279 sure about doing so. He didn't want to be in competition with with Edna. 286 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:56.839 But it was the wine that his father always be nified and loved to 287 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:00.480 drink. He said, my father in law would say, I love it 288 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:04.279 because it's a wine that doesn't stain the glass. And now fifty years later, 289 00:24:04.359 --> 00:24:07.559 we're making that wine that doesn't stain the glass. And we called it 290 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:11.920 Terra di Elio, which means the Lands of Elio, which was my father 291 00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:17.200 in law's name, but it's also our first son's name. And the first 292 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:21.799 vintage we've we've unified that we commercialize, I should say, because every year 293 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:23.759 we always made a little of it, but the first vintage that we made 294 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:29.839 enough of to bottle and commercialize was the twenty twenty when Elio was born. 295 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:34.160 Well, I remember sitting outside we started our day just to paint a picture, 296 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:40.240 or sitting out on your patio till it started to rain, and I 297 00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:47.599 remember having the the di Nerello masculizi rose diadel Sicilian. We had that beautiful 298 00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:52.200 rose and we tasted some whites before we went inside, and you're it is 299 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:56.839 like a farmhouse inside, and you prepared this incredible meal. And when we 300 00:24:56.920 --> 00:25:00.880 were there, it was I think may so spring and spring season. Yes, 301 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:07.400 for those who are, you know, less familiar with some of the 302 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:11.359 and as you said, a long time ago, no one seemed to know 303 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:15.559 the foods of Sicily. We are now talking and it's early. It's August 304 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:22.079 September area, and harvest is starting, and eggplant season is upon us and 305 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:29.119 tomatoes are being made into pulp. What are some dishes, foods and dishes 306 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:33.440 that you feel are essential to Sicily that everyone should think about whether they're visiting 307 00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:37.480 or are featured in your book, because the book really takes you through Sicily, 308 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:45.319 but from where you are, well, I think that in terms of 309 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:53.400 what is traditional, it's it's a complicated question because when we look at the 310 00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:59.000 island, there's so many different realities. We're here in the center, we're 311 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:04.480 in a mountainous air where where nearly eight hundred meters above sea level, and 312 00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:10.599 everything that I grow here in my vegetable garden and everything just comes out so 313 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:17.119 so fresh and so flavorful because we have these we do have the hot Sicilian 314 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:19.920 sun, but we also have the nights that are very cool, so it's 315 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:26.640 very ideal for growing all year round for the for the vegetable garden. And 316 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:30.680 what I what I feel is that in other areas it's different. For example, 317 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:34.799 in the southeastern coast, I look more at the tomatoes and things that 318 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:41.079 are more intensely, very concentrated in flavor. In this area, I like 319 00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:48.079 the the things that are more green, for example. Also the wild vegetables 320 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:52.680 and the wild herbs are very interesting, which grows all throughout Sicily, but 321 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:57.720 here in this in this mountainous area, it's quite abundant. So my cuisine 322 00:26:59.720 --> 00:27:03.839 very much reflects this center area of Sicily, not only in terms of the 323 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:10.440 vegetables and the produce that's available, but this is an area that's very rich 324 00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:17.680 with and full of full of animals for cheesemaking, because it's where one of 325 00:27:17.720 --> 00:27:22.200 the only vineyards, the only the closest vineyard is Regaliali, which is about 326 00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:29.799 twenty eight to thirty kilometers distance from us, but in this area it's mainly 327 00:27:29.880 --> 00:27:33.400 grain field. This was the classic grainary of the Roman Empire, the center 328 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:38.799 of Sicily, and so we're full of sheep and goats and also cows, 329 00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:45.680 and the cheesemaking is just amazing. So when I look at ingredients to cope 330 00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:49.039 with, I have this fresh produce, like you said, eggplants right now, 331 00:27:49.400 --> 00:27:56.839 or the the Sicilian zucchini, the long zucchini squash, the leaves of 332 00:27:56.920 --> 00:28:03.440 the zucchini plant called tenetumi. Basically whatever is fresh and growing. But also 333 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:08.279 I like to use the elements, the traditional elements from the the animals of 334 00:28:08.359 --> 00:28:15.480 the of the territory produce and the recipes I've now pretty much followed very much 335 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:21.839 old recipes that are dying out and recipes that are hard, too hard to 336 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:26.480 even replicate anymore. And those are the ones that I love to I love 337 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:30.279 to make it home. But they're all driven by simple ingredients. We grow 338 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:36.720 chickpeas, lentils. Every year we've now we're now harvesting fair amount. Just 339 00:28:36.839 --> 00:28:41.960 last week we harvested and it was quite abundant. And it's interesting because every 340 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:48.240 year they taste different. There's really a vintage of the taste of the beans, 341 00:28:48.359 --> 00:28:51.400 and interesting if you taste one next to each other you're you, you'd 342 00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:56.119 you'd understand what I mean, because every year the climate is different, the 343 00:28:56.240 --> 00:29:00.160 land is different, and that's reflected in the taste of the foods. So 344 00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:04.240 what is Sicilian cuisine? We would be talking for hours about the history of 345 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:08.960 Sicily, about the culture of each different area, the geography of the different 346 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:15.519 area, and then of the different social classes, because there's so much mixed 347 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:21.039 within Sicily, from the peasant cuisine to the aristocratic cuisine. And how interestingly 348 00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:26.839 enough, the peasant cuisine very much often reflects dishes that come from the aristocratic 349 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:34.160 cuisine. For example, there's a dish that's called a becafico, which basically 350 00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:38.880 means sardines cooked in the way of the little birds that are called becafico. 351 00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:45.519 The aristocratic recipe was that they were little birds. They were not sardines. 352 00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:51.759 There were little birds that were stuffed and and stuffed with breadcrumbs and pine nuts 353 00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:56.359 and raisins and cheese and then roasted. The peasant version was to take what 354 00:29:56.519 --> 00:30:00.759 was abundant. If you put a net in the sea, especially in the 355 00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:07.400 springtime, you'll be you'll fill up that net easily with sardines. So that 356 00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:15.839 abundance was then translated into a copying of a dish that was part of part 357 00:30:15.880 --> 00:30:21.359 of an aristocratic cuisine. And there's just so many of those type of examples. 358 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:27.640 There's another examples with caponata. Caponata comes from the word capone, is 359 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:36.039 the name of a fish similar to a small like a machi machi in terms 360 00:30:36.079 --> 00:30:41.640 of the flesh, and kaponata was first made with that fish, not rede 361 00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:45.759 with eggplants. But today it's known if you say caponata, everyone knows what 362 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:49.680 that means egg plants, right, But that's not the origin of the dish. 363 00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:55.799 That's interesting. And it looks sounds like capon which is a rooster to 364 00:30:56.039 --> 00:31:02.039 us. Yeah, but it's capona from Pesha. Capona the roosters is a 365 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:10.279 different word in Italian. It's interesting when I think of recent visits to Sicily 366 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:12.519 and also to the southern parts of Italy. I've got eggplant, and I 367 00:31:12.599 --> 00:31:17.000 grew up I hated egg plant as a child, hated it, but I 368 00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:22.200 actually love it after going to Italy and specifically to Sicily and to Campania, 369 00:31:22.319 --> 00:31:26.079 which I think I had some of the best eggplant dishes of my life. 370 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:30.559 Sure, sure, yeah, And yet a lot of people are toil dated 371 00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:37.759 to use egg plant cook with eggplant the United States. I feel that a 372 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:42.440 home cook in Sicily probably knows about this is something I've said often, But 373 00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:45.640 at least you need to know a hundred ways of how to cook with with 374 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:52.160 egg plant as a in a Sicilian home because right now, I mean, 375 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:55.440 as we speak, this morning I picked I can't tell you how many egg 376 00:31:55.480 --> 00:31:59.000 plants, and there's more tomorrow to pick, and more than the next day, 377 00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:02.240 and every day it can't be done in the same recipe. But tonight 378 00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:07.839 I'm roasting them in the oven very simply, just very very small. I 379 00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:12.920 harvest them when they're really small, cut them in half, and then cut 380 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:17.160 little inserts into them, and put pieces of garlic, pieces of raw garlic, 381 00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:25.359 some mint, some very age cheese, very harsh age spicy age cheese, 382 00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:30.359 and lots of olive oil and parsley as well along with the mint, 383 00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:36.640 and then just just roast them in the oven. And they're just fabulous. 384 00:32:36.680 --> 00:32:39.720 So that that's tonight's dinner. We'll have to see for tomorrow. I was 385 00:32:39.799 --> 00:32:45.799 thinking of making an egg clint parmigiana, which the classic recipe here is just 386 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:52.400 slicing them with skin off in this case, slicing them, frying them and 387 00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:57.920 then topping them with some of tomato sauce, of course, homemade tomato sauce, 388 00:32:59.160 --> 00:33:02.960 a basic leaf and then just a sprinkle of age cheese on top. 389 00:33:04.519 --> 00:33:10.240 But why would you have with that, Melissa, Oh, let's see with 390 00:33:10.440 --> 00:33:19.240 that, I probably have our netro double lan usa, which is which comes 391 00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:25.160 from vines that are thirty five year old vines that were drafted from the prefiloxeta, 392 00:33:25.240 --> 00:33:29.519 the mother plants. It's not a while, it's not a dish to 393 00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:37.400 pair with the frucata because the prefiloxida nero doubla, which needs something more more 394 00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:44.799 hefty and more something meaty, usually making the lamb or the roasted goat. 395 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:52.920 When we have the frucata the the We also produce a wine called petty Cone, 396 00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:57.680 which is quite which has it's fuller and more spicy, and that that 397 00:33:57.799 --> 00:34:01.720 I usually pair when I when I make our homemade sausage, which I make 398 00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:07.239 nice full of pepper and full of black pepper and wild fennel. When you 399 00:34:07.360 --> 00:34:09.400 cook, do you think about obviously you cook for the season, do you 400 00:34:09.480 --> 00:34:13.360 think about the wine or do you know when you think about the wine when 401 00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:15.880 you're cooking, or does that I think we do. I'll give you an 402 00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:19.400 example. We had a Russan. We had a Russan and refrigerator last night, 403 00:34:19.480 --> 00:34:22.760 and I just all I could do was think about that wine, and 404 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:28.039 there was nothing in the refrigerator to eat that would satisfy what I wanted with 405 00:34:28.119 --> 00:34:30.119 that wine. I ended up going out and picking up because we kind of 406 00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:32.840 live in a food doesn't right now, I end up picking up this wonderful 407 00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:37.800 tie curry and spicy, pepious salad because that's all I wanted with that wine. 408 00:34:38.199 --> 00:34:42.320 And so often when we cook, I think about what the wine is 409 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:45.840 first versus what we have, although sometimes it's just what we happen to have 410 00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:47.800 in the refrigerator, and how can we make it more creative and less every 411 00:34:47.880 --> 00:34:51.840 day, because I think that's a challenge for a lot of people's, Like 412 00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:54.920 you know, you have an abundance of eggplant, or abundance of beans, 413 00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.599 or abundance of zucchini, how to make it different every day? But when 414 00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:01.320 we cook, we think about the wine just because we're wine. No, 415 00:35:01.559 --> 00:35:07.760 absolutely absolutely we do too, But I think that I think of it as 416 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:13.920 almost like an ingredient in the dish. So I'm cooking and then thinking pairing 417 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:19.159 to me is just basically adding another ingredient into the dish, if if if 418 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:22.039 that makes sense, And so probably I think about, you know what, 419 00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:27.719 I'm cooking first, and then the wine comes from there. We also, 420 00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:31.320 of course, we drink our We drink our own wines a lot also because 421 00:35:31.679 --> 00:35:37.599 we always do different tastings and we have bottles open, so we're always tasting 422 00:35:37.639 --> 00:35:42.119 our wines. But we also really love to taste wines from around the world, 423 00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:47.679 so it's become a bit of a hobby of ours. And and what's 424 00:35:47.880 --> 00:35:52.920 that also, Oh gosh, so much. I mean, we're Barolo, 425 00:35:53.119 --> 00:36:04.840 we love and the Burgundy. It's everything is intriguing. German whites, Austrian 426 00:36:04.920 --> 00:36:08.599 whites. We basically have a little bit of everything in our little wine cellar. 427 00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:14.880 And when when we have a dish that's interesting, we figure out what 428 00:36:15.320 --> 00:36:20.480 to open and what to pair with it. But there's a fun sure, 429 00:36:20.920 --> 00:36:22.960 well yeah, because listen, dinner doesn't taste good with water. Let's be 430 00:36:23.119 --> 00:36:28.760 real. I understand you have a vineyard project. So the vineyard at the 431 00:36:28.840 --> 00:36:37.039 moment is forty four hectors and we just this year just planted the wild vines 432 00:36:37.559 --> 00:36:42.559 for another eight hectors of vineyard. I think I think you might have when 433 00:36:42.599 --> 00:36:45.559 yeah, when you came in May, you saw the baby vines. Right, 434 00:36:45.639 --> 00:36:47.920 forty four hectors is fairly large. Just for everybody who doesn't know math, 435 00:36:47.960 --> 00:36:52.639 that's about one hundred and eight acres. It's fairly large. I mean 436 00:36:52.840 --> 00:37:00.599 taking into consideration that we're a family winery because we're basically a meat small small 437 00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:09.880 the medium sized winery, but still completely family operated. And it's we have 438 00:37:10.079 --> 00:37:15.639 the request for for the wines, and we realized that we needed to we 439 00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:21.840 needed to expand just a little bit. So this year we added the eight 440 00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:25.920 hectors. What we do here is that first we plant wild vines. So 441 00:37:27.079 --> 00:37:31.719 in January we planted those those wild vines. Wild vines do not produce grapes, 442 00:37:32.599 --> 00:37:37.719 so next week or not even this Saturday. So in two days from 443 00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:44.400 now, a group of grafters and the average age is seventy eight years old. 444 00:37:44.519 --> 00:37:46.920 Of the group of grafters who come, there's five of them. And 445 00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:52.559 it's a it's very hard to find grafters nowadays because it's absolutely a dying art 446 00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:58.199 because if you for for the most part, when someone wants to plant a 447 00:37:58.280 --> 00:38:01.440 new vineyard, you go to the nursery garden, or you take the catalog 448 00:38:01.679 --> 00:38:06.840 from a nursery garden and you pick out which, let's say, clone of 449 00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:09.199 Neto daubla you'd like, you read the description, you'd like it to be 450 00:38:09.280 --> 00:38:14.360 more disease resistant, or one that works better at a high altitude, or 451 00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:20.119 one that has more taste of cherry, or so forth. Here Montoni, 452 00:38:20.400 --> 00:38:23.960 the objective is to look at the past in order to make decisions for the 453 00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:30.239 future. That's my husband's motto and that's become mine as well. And what 454 00:38:30.400 --> 00:38:35.719 we very consciously decided was if we plant a new vineyard, and when we 455 00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:39.760 do so, it has to be planted grafted from the old plants. That 456 00:38:39.920 --> 00:38:45.159 means that we continue the genetic code of the old plants, which is a 457 00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:52.599 genetic code that's unique to Montoni. Especially. There's there was there's been research 458 00:38:52.679 --> 00:38:57.920 done on netodabola, which is quite interesting. There were thirty different specimens of 459 00:38:58.000 --> 00:39:06.519 nedodaubola from around Sicily to can and within that thirty fifteen different clones were identified 460 00:39:07.320 --> 00:39:09.559 and that was only thirty taken, so you can imagine if that was expanded. 461 00:39:09.679 --> 00:39:19.119 So fifty percent is very very high percentage. And the clone that's here 462 00:39:19.159 --> 00:39:22.599 at Montoni is of the Neddle dabola or of the Neddle mascalaise or so forth, 463 00:39:22.920 --> 00:39:28.440 is what we want to carry forward genetically. So the only way to 464 00:39:28.519 --> 00:39:31.280 do so, of course, is to not purchase fines from the nursery garden 465 00:39:31.960 --> 00:39:38.280 and to graft onto the to the wild vines. So it's an amazing scene. 466 00:39:38.320 --> 00:39:42.639 I'll send you pictures, Melanie from the over the next few days, 467 00:39:42.920 --> 00:39:46.599 because the whole work job needs to be done within a ten to ten day 468 00:39:46.679 --> 00:39:52.760 window. They will, the grafters will come, they'll take the pieces of 469 00:39:53.079 --> 00:40:00.440 the of the old vines. And what's interesting is we're grafting a part of 470 00:40:00.519 --> 00:40:07.039 the vineyard at the highest point. We're grafting from old vines that we are 471 00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:09.719 researching right now. We don't even know the name of the old vines there. 472 00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:15.000 There's some red and some white vines that we are not sure even what 473 00:40:15.079 --> 00:40:22.519 they are old to to the land, and we're grafting from from them a 474 00:40:22.599 --> 00:40:25.639 part of the of the vineyard. Well, you know, Melissa, I'm 475 00:40:25.679 --> 00:40:31.559 on your website Fayota Montoni dot it and you have a wonderful video explanation of 476 00:40:31.719 --> 00:40:35.400 this. I love it because it says, basically, as you said, 477 00:40:35.880 --> 00:40:37.440 you can set up a vineyard with two roads to follow. You buy the 478 00:40:37.519 --> 00:40:43.400 plants from the nursery or you propagate the ancient vines from your vineyards. And 479 00:40:43.800 --> 00:40:46.920 that is like for someone who's not in the wine business doesn't understand that. 480 00:40:47.079 --> 00:40:52.480 It's like if you had the mother of a very fine balsamic vinegar, when 481 00:40:52.519 --> 00:40:55.559 to make a really fine balsamic vinegar, you'd have to start with the mother 482 00:40:55.679 --> 00:41:00.880 and you have to propagate. And that's really what you're doing, is you're 483 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:06.000 propagating and keep and that is something very unique to Fayuta Montoni. I want 484 00:41:06.039 --> 00:41:08.840 to underscore that like fifty times because it is it is labor intensive. I'm 485 00:41:08.920 --> 00:41:14.280 kind of blown away that the grap that they're seventy eight years old and at 486 00:41:14.400 --> 00:41:16.320 what happens when they die out. But basically you're taking, as you said, 487 00:41:16.360 --> 00:41:21.280 the genetic code and that takes time. So when you're doing that, 488 00:41:21.440 --> 00:41:29.400 now, when will you actually see vines producing fruit? Well from by next 489 00:41:29.519 --> 00:41:34.800 year what comes up is the is what's been grafted on, so in terms 490 00:41:34.840 --> 00:41:37.639 of variety, would be already the plant by next year, will that grows 491 00:41:37.760 --> 00:41:45.239 will be the variety that we that we graphed onto the wild plant. By 492 00:41:45.320 --> 00:41:47.960 the time we see fruit could be let's say the second year that it's planted. 493 00:41:49.039 --> 00:41:53.199 But we cut off those those clusters, so will it will cut them 494 00:41:53.280 --> 00:41:59.480 off in order to strengthen the roots of those vines. We'll do that for 495 00:41:59.559 --> 00:42:04.159 a few years. So the first sign of of of grapes that we could 496 00:42:04.679 --> 00:42:08.159 could look at will be about five years down the road. But it's it's 497 00:42:08.199 --> 00:42:13.320 really for a long term project. It's a it's a vineer that we planted 498 00:42:14.320 --> 00:42:21.840 so so that our sons can have can can can harvest the fruits as they 499 00:42:21.920 --> 00:42:24.480 grow up. Because it's really, uh, it's a project that we look 500 00:42:24.519 --> 00:42:30.039 at. It's a forty year project. It's not it's not something that you 501 00:42:30.119 --> 00:42:35.599 look at for next year. We're already already making wine. I think it's 502 00:42:35.639 --> 00:42:40.760 important score this is this is a labor of love. This is you know, 503 00:42:40.960 --> 00:42:45.119 looking at the genetics of wine. And it is not like the wine 504 00:42:45.239 --> 00:42:49.960 that are most people in the United States are seeing on shelves the supermarkets, 505 00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:52.760 which is you know, like the equivalent of fast food wine. Half the 506 00:42:52.840 --> 00:42:55.840 time. This is wine that is you know, they're slow cooking this is 507 00:42:57.039 --> 00:43:04.119 slow cultivation and evolution of of of of vine and it's quite fascinating and like 508 00:43:04.199 --> 00:43:07.920 a lot of people don't understand that, but this is how we do everything 509 00:43:07.039 --> 00:43:12.159 on the farm. It's I know, of course you focus on focus on 510 00:43:12.199 --> 00:43:15.440 the wine, but that's the heritage grains. We save our grain year the 511 00:43:15.519 --> 00:43:21.039 year. That's that's a strain of grain that it is not found everywhere and 512 00:43:21.159 --> 00:43:29.719 it's not a regular modern version genetically modified dorm wheat. The tomatoes that the 513 00:43:29.800 --> 00:43:35.320 tomato plants I have the seeds that are from very old old versions. Even 514 00:43:35.480 --> 00:43:40.800 the vinegar that I make that I use in my caponata has a mother mother 515 00:43:40.960 --> 00:43:49.079 vinegar that came from my husband's great aunts, a great uncle's mother, so 516 00:43:49.239 --> 00:43:53.679 it goes back over a century ago. That to us is the basis of 517 00:43:53.800 --> 00:43:58.840 everything, and it's I don't know if the excitement comes through in my voice, 518 00:43:58.920 --> 00:44:04.199 but I how I could express that. It's just the driving force between 519 00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:07.239 of what we do, and it's what I could only have dreamed of doing 520 00:44:07.559 --> 00:44:12.960 as a child, going back to when I was twelve years old cooking in 521 00:44:13.039 --> 00:44:19.159 our home to fill fill the home with the scent of sicily. Today I'm 522 00:44:19.239 --> 00:44:23.920 able to do that, and today I'm able to realize the realize those dreams 523 00:44:23.960 --> 00:44:29.960 and it's just a true blessing. You really are living the agreement. David 524 00:44:29.960 --> 00:44:35.000 and I were blessed because you sent us once this incredible care package with the 525 00:44:35.079 --> 00:44:37.159 most amazing pasta and chick We still have some of those chickweys. We actually, 526 00:44:37.360 --> 00:44:39.480 you know, we fight over when to use them because we keep we 527 00:44:39.519 --> 00:44:45.079 want to hold on to everything and honeys and the brunt these pistache Sicilian pistachios 528 00:44:45.119 --> 00:44:50.440 and honey and everything is just amazing. Can you do you? Can you 529 00:44:50.719 --> 00:44:52.039 do? You sell your products? Is there a way for anyone in the 530 00:44:52.119 --> 00:44:54.760 United States to get your food products? And you can get the wines, 531 00:44:54.800 --> 00:45:00.320 but what about the food. Well, what we've done now is we've we've 532 00:45:00.920 --> 00:45:06.239 sold on very smaller scale and to some of our partners around the world that 533 00:45:06.360 --> 00:45:12.119 have organic shops or really focus on the organic, especially with our olive oil 534 00:45:12.320 --> 00:45:17.159 or the lentils. But we have made the decision to also package and sell 535 00:45:17.320 --> 00:45:22.199 on the more small scale some of our some of these products, like the 536 00:45:22.280 --> 00:45:27.800 pastas, the tomato sauces. It's just that it's we don't want it to 537 00:45:29.000 --> 00:45:32.400 take away from our focus on the wine because it's in order to make wine 538 00:45:32.480 --> 00:45:37.440 that to make good wine, it really takes our dedication and being a family, 539 00:45:37.920 --> 00:45:44.039 family operated business. It's those three hundred and sixty five daste a year 540 00:45:44.559 --> 00:45:49.440 and are not going to the beaches and are not taking vacations, and it's 541 00:45:49.480 --> 00:45:54.480 this. It's full time dedicated to that and to tasting all the tanks every 542 00:45:54.559 --> 00:46:00.039 ten days, and to being a part in the of the seller operations day 543 00:46:00.159 --> 00:46:07.800 today. So our other products are where I have a huge passion for them 544 00:46:07.960 --> 00:46:12.039 and I put I put energy into them, but of course we don't want 545 00:46:12.079 --> 00:46:15.639 them to take away from our main focus, which which is it's the wines, 546 00:46:16.159 --> 00:46:21.519 and that's why I do small scale. So this year, in terms 547 00:46:21.559 --> 00:46:28.320 of tomatoes, I have one hector of tomatoes planted. The lentils which are 548 00:46:28.519 --> 00:46:34.360 easier to cultivate and easier to easier to manage on a large scale. We 549 00:46:35.079 --> 00:46:38.840 seated the ten hectors more or less this year. But everything has to be 550 00:46:39.000 --> 00:46:45.039 proportioned in order to keep wine our focus. You know, I'm going to 551 00:46:45.159 --> 00:46:50.480 underscores. We start to wind down this wonderful conversation. This is a very 552 00:46:50.800 --> 00:46:54.679 special place in the heart and soul and center of Italy, which I David 553 00:46:54.679 --> 00:47:00.639 and I are blessed to have visited. Blest for those of you who do 554 00:47:00.880 --> 00:47:05.559 decide to come to Italy, whether you visit Fayota Montoni or not, you 555 00:47:05.639 --> 00:47:07.920 can get the wines in Italy and in the United States. But when you 556 00:47:08.119 --> 00:47:14.519 travel, wherever you travel, go off the beaten track to the heart and 557 00:47:14.719 --> 00:47:16.960 soul of a region. Don't just stay where all the tourists are on the 558 00:47:17.079 --> 00:47:22.440 coast or in the big city exactly. You won't meet the real You'll you'll 559 00:47:22.440 --> 00:47:24.039 see the soul, but you won't see the heart, and that, I 560 00:47:24.119 --> 00:47:29.159 think is what is special about Fayota Montoni. There's a soul throughout Sicily, 561 00:47:29.280 --> 00:47:31.079 but you're in the heart. You're in a It's a beating heart of what's 562 00:47:31.119 --> 00:47:35.360 happening in a living, working farm and family. And I feel that's what 563 00:47:35.559 --> 00:47:38.840 I felt when I was there. Well, your words are very, very 564 00:47:38.920 --> 00:47:45.119 beautiful and very touching to me because it's exactly what I feel. But I'm 565 00:47:45.159 --> 00:47:47.719 not always sure if everyone else feels the same. But the fact that you 566 00:47:47.840 --> 00:47:53.599 felt that way when you came to came to Failda Montoni confirms how I feel 567 00:47:54.199 --> 00:47:59.840 about living here. And about dedicating my life to this land, and it's 568 00:48:00.159 --> 00:48:02.559 it's also a life that's dedicated not only to this land, but to this 569 00:48:02.960 --> 00:48:09.880 beating heart of Sicily that really needs attention, it really needs to be not 570 00:48:10.079 --> 00:48:15.880 forgotten, because if anything about about the work we do, it's about bringing 571 00:48:16.119 --> 00:48:22.159 life to the territory and not letting it be abandoned because it could easily be 572 00:48:22.320 --> 00:48:28.960 so, but that's not that's obviously not what our objective is. And I 573 00:48:29.119 --> 00:48:34.000 hope that in my next book, which is basically it's basically all of my 574 00:48:34.239 --> 00:48:37.239 field work. We could call it, but a collection of my diaries from 575 00:48:37.280 --> 00:48:42.880 the past years, I hope that I can best represent what this beating heart 576 00:48:42.960 --> 00:48:46.599 of the of the core of Sicily means, and not only what it means 577 00:48:46.679 --> 00:48:52.039 to me, but how it's a reflection an example for the rest of the 578 00:48:52.159 --> 00:48:55.159 world in today's modern world. Well, you're a beautiful writer. Again, 579 00:48:55.199 --> 00:48:59.519 I just want to underscore that the book that is available right now is Sicily. 580 00:49:00.079 --> 00:49:02.039 It's by Risoli, The Cookbook, and it is fabulous. I can't 581 00:49:02.079 --> 00:49:06.280 wait to read your next one. I love the fact that you followed your 582 00:49:06.360 --> 00:49:09.000 heart to the place you want to be, because that is what I'm all 583 00:49:09.039 --> 00:49:15.679 about is helping people follow their heart and live the life they choose, and 584 00:49:15.760 --> 00:49:19.639 I love the fact that you've done that. Thank you so much for joining 585 00:49:19.719 --> 00:49:23.119 me. I'm getting hungry just thinking about everything. I can't wait to visit, 586 00:49:23.119 --> 00:49:27.039 see you again, see you and Fabio and the family again. Until 587 00:49:27.079 --> 00:49:30.559 then, I toast to everything you're doing. Thank you, Melanie, and 588 00:49:30.599 --> 00:49:34.719 thank you for having me. And I warmly, warmly welcome you and David 589 00:49:34.800 --> 00:49:39.519 Beck as soon as possible. This is your retreat and wherever whenever you want 590 00:49:39.559 --> 00:49:45.119 to come stay for an extended period of time, You're more than welcome to 591 00:49:45.199 --> 00:49:49.599 do so. Thank you. I appreciate it. And good luck with harvest 592 00:49:49.719 --> 00:49:52.159 this year. All right, thank you, thank you. I'll keep you 593 00:49:52.280 --> 00:49:55.719 posted definitely what some photograph says, we graft and as we harvest. All 594 00:49:55.840 --> 00:50:02.679 right, thank you very much. Thank you. You stand up that box, 595 00:50:04.639 --> 00:50:10.800 make you mine, and your stand up roster down, your stand u