Tenuta Masselina Winery

If you’ve seen or read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, then you’re probably very familiar with the phrase, “dolce far niente”, or the sweetness of doing nothing. Despite the fact that Italians do, in fact, lead normal and busy lives, I think their culture differs from ours in the United States in that in their free time, they really do just enjoy being with loved ones and living in the moment. While, we’re constantly running around, dreaming up new projects, going on errands, cleaning, etc., Italians are taking the time to sit, eat, drink, talk, and observe. In fact, that is precisely the reason that I love Italian culture so much: because their idea of a good time is one that is spent simply living and loving.

When I visited the Emilia-Romagna region on a blogger tour, we were invited to visit the Tenuta Masselina winery to learn about the wine-making process and the company, and to enjoy a meal at their facilities.

Upon our arrival, we were immediately offered our choice of tea or coffee while they were kind enough to give us a bit of background about the company and the types of wines they offered. Afterward, we took a walk around the vineyards through thick fog and learned about the harvesting techniques and taste-tested a few of the grapes. The dew on the grass prevented us from heading down to the lower level where the white grapes were grown, so we instead returned to the main building. There, our gracious hosts were busy preparing a several-course meal for us, complete with wine pairings.

As we sat down, it occurred to me that despite the fact that I’d only just met the group of bloggers I was with a few days earlier, and the people at the vineyards mere hours before our meal, I felt as if I was among family. Everyone talked as if they’d known each other for years, happy to do nothing more than visit with and learn about one another. Course after delicious course, we stuffed our bellies and washed down the heavy cream sauces with light and aromatic wines. Our cheeks grew pink from intoxication and our lips all curled into smiles as the time slipped away from us.

That afternoon reminded me exactly of what I love so much about Italian culture: the people are so open and friendly, skipping straight past formalities and immediately accepting you as their family–planting kisses on your cheeks and plying you with food and wine. Despite the fact that we were all there to work, we found time to relax, laugh, and enjoy one another’s company.

This post was a part of Buonvivere Blog Tour, organized by Settimana del Buonvivere in collaboration with 21grammy.