It’s been a few months since returning from the 2014 DaVinci Storyteller Experience.  At the end of September, I was whisked away from my busy bee life in Austin and placed in the middle of Tuscan hills with a handpicked group of amazing people and a dream itinerary.  The only moment of the trip that felt like real life was the return flight home.  And over a month later, memories of this adventure continue to cross my mind on a daily basis.

Even though our Tuscan days were scheduled by the hour, life abroad felt slower, intentional.  We sat as a group for every meal.  We conversed.  We laughed.  We shared {DaVinci} wine.  And every meal was merry.

In between meals, we were learning.  Whether it was about traditional Tuscan cuisine, the history of DaVinci, the work that goes into each bottle of wine – we were soaking it all up. We were a foursome of merry American sponges, eager to learn what every person we encountered was willing to share.

Often times, the vineyard was our classroom.  Standing among grapes ripe for the picking, we’d learn about the co-op of growers that make up the Cantine Leonardo DaVinci and how there is a cap to how large each vineyard can be to ensure quality is the growers’ main focus.

We’d have a front row seat as the growers pulled up to a machine that tested the sugar content of their grapes.  We’d learn that the higher the sugar content, the more growers would earn for their grapes.  DaVinci Wine, along with making sure vineyard sizes were manageable in relation to the quality they expect, incentivizes their growers so they continue to produce the best grapes, year after year.

And then we’d get to experience first-hand how much thought goes into combining harvests from all of the growers to create each year’s perfect vintage.  Sitting in a laboratory with unmarked bottles of wine, we were tasked to submit percentages of each sample that made up a bottle of Chianti.  It was the most fun I could ever imagine having in a laboratory!  And although the preciseness of the vintage shouldn’t have come as a surprise, when we found out the actual percentages, it was nothing short of surprising.

It was an amazing seven days made even more amazing by Storyteller company.  It took approximately four hours for us to be close enough to share our quirks and bury ourselves in inside jokes.

{photo credit: Kesten Migdal}

Inside jokes that were so endearing, we were able to recruit Giacamo {of DaVinci Wine} to take part in the fun.  The picture above captures Karen, me, Giacamo, Jen, and Celeste making “cava face”, the face that happens when you’d rather be discussing/drinking Italian prosecco versus Spanish cava.

{photo credit: Kesten Migdal}

And this picture… captures the smile that accompanied me during the entire 2014 Davinci Storyteller Experience.  Words cannot express how thankful I am to have been chosen for this Tuscan adventure.  And I look forward to the time we all meet again, with glasses of DaVinci wine in hand!