Lederhosen and Grapes

The Tales From an Unusual Childhood Children

This photo came back into family hands via Facebook and a long lost cousin - well the cousin wasn't lost, it was the Brooks who had lost touch with many people during their wanderings. It was taken shortly after their arrival in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdobbiadene Italy and at that point the family's common language would have been German.  All four children had a passion for languages and rapidly adopted the languages of the countries they invaded.  It wasn't long before Italian became their lingua franca.

The red sweaters and lederhosen? Those came courtesy of Mutti, their German grandmother who deserves a story in her own right, and were a godsend for Brigitte.  The boys were not shy about wandering and frequently disappeared into the hills. The bright red sweaters were easy to spot in the distance and allowed Brigitte to keep somewhat of an eye on them. The boys on the other hand could never figure out how the local farmers knew it was "them" creating mischief in their fields.  Ken would often arrive home at the end of the day to find an angry farmer on his doorstep. They soon became know as the piccoli conquistatore tedeschi (the little German conquerors).

The hills, vast estates and family run farms were all fair game in the boys eyes and it wasn't long before they discovered they could "pick" fruit and bring it the local bars and restaurants in exchange for ice cream cones.

The grapes? The grape of the region is Glera use to make Prosecco, a dry white sparkling wine.  The Brooks own 3 acre vineyard lay on a steep hill with a small fortified castle at the top that was the summer home of a wealthy Italian family. To the delight of the children it was usually unoccupied. The thick wooden door had enough perches and footholds for the children to scale and then squeeze through a tiny gap in the arch. From there they could drop down and were free to roam and play. Hide and seek in rooms filled with heavy hand-carved antique furniture was a favourite activity, as was climbing the tower to look for the owl.

Many of the wines of the Veneto are sold at the LCBO, our provincial wine dealer, including a few that carry the grapes of their own vineyard that was sold a few years ago. Shopping for wine with any member of the Brooks family is never just a "let's pick up a bottle of wine" trip. It is a journey through memories of  farmers, friends, artwork, vintners, villas, Italian nobility, adventure and mischief.