FATTORIA LE FONTI - a wonderful vinyard with the best wine, best olive oil and best neighbors!

 

Guido Vitali grew up in Tuscany.  After school he served in the military and then traveled around the world.  He had many jobs and girlfriends, was always hard working and independent.  One of his girlfriends worked in the fashion industry and her father suggested to him to open a Restaurant.  He looked into it and soon realized that the restaurant business was not for him.  Eventually he went to London and studied photography.  When the English weather got the best of him he returned to the Chianti area and started his career as a professional photographer and gardener.  That’s when he met Vicky Schmitt-Vitaly who became his wife in 1999.  Vicky’s parents Corrado and Margerita Schmitt offered Vicky and Guido the opportunity to take over the Fattoria le Fonti which they had started in 1993.
The Le Fonti property comprises 37 acres, of which 22 acres are vineyards, 10 acres of olive trees and 5 acres buildings and open spaces.  The perimeter is 2km-a nice walk.  They produce yearly 40-45.000 bottles of wine and 1 to 2 tons of olive oil, some grappa and vin santo - all part of the tuscan tradition.

I asked Guido what he likes about making wine and oil, “the green gold” as they call it here. 
Guido:
“ I love the life style, the simplicity of it.   Working in and with nature is challenging.  Every year is different, brings a different weather, different bugs and diseases.  We care for the land with passion and love and keep the products as pure as possible.  We have been organic since the beginning and will soon get our certification as well.  Working in this way is stimulating, creative and alive.  The land with the trees and wines and the fattoria are a living organism.  The love and care that goes into making the products lives on in the products.  It is an old way of life which I like.  I had my time in the city.  It is more true for me to be close to real nature.  You live with the weather; the work can be hard and stressful-yet it is a very different stress from the stress you experience in a city.  It’s a good fitness program and we get paid to keep fit!”  (We laugh!)

C:” What would you like people to know about Le Fonti?”

Guido:” 
I want them to know how much of our life’s blood, love and passion goes into the work.  I want them to come here and feel the energy for themselves.  We live in this spectacular landscape, we have so much space for generosity, friendship and good feelings which is reflected in our products.  They are made with so much good energy!  I recently visited with friends in London.  It is always a shock for me to come to a big city like that with so many people.  Nobody looks you in the eyes.  Here we are part of a Village.  We all know each other, support each other and with an open, friendly attitude the whole Village is your friend.”

C:” What distinguishes Le Fonti from other vineyards?”

Guido:
“ It is the location and then it is also a question of taste.  It is a good micro climate here, the soil, the sun.  Every vineyard’s location differs.  Depending on the geography there is more or less sun or wind; it all makes a difference to the ripening of the grapes.  One can taste in the wine how it is made.  The care that goes into it is like the care for our children.  Small wineries have this genuine family style of working.  That makes a bloody good wine!  And we keep everything as pure as possible.  No chemical fertilizers.  Panzano was actually one of the first “bio districts” in Italy.  It is a good area here for growing organically because Panzano is on a hill and always well ventilated.  It is best to follow the ways of how the old farmers worked the land here.  Taking care of the land with love, doing many things by hand and always paying attention-that’s how we take care of the territory, of our world.  Taking care is primary.  It makes for a good life - and good wine!  It will not make us rich, but it is a very good life.”

C:”  If you could change one thing about Italian politics, what would it be?”

Guido:
“Politicians primarily think of themselves and the system does not work.  There should be a two party system with fewer, contradictory ideas.  They spend our tax money to argue and don’t support the cultural life or health care.  They should encourage business freedom and provide us with economic tools instead of creating blockages for us.  There is no real leadership and the ownership of the media creates biased reporting.”

C:” What does it take to consistently provide high quality products?”

Guido:
“Dedication.  Staying on top of things and never resting on your achievements.  That’s the hard part.  Every year brings different challenges and that keeps me active.  I always try to better myself and to do my best in every area.  I have high standards and I want to make excellent wine.  I strive to better the wine from one year to the next..”

In addition to making great wine and olive oil, Guido and his family have the best pizza parties going on during the summer.

C:” What is the secret to these irresistible pizzas?”

Guido:
“It’s just that we want to eat good pizza ourselves! (we laugh).  Well, it’s all in the dough.  It has to be well risen and light.  You can ask Vicky for the recipe.  Of course the pizza oven which we heat with wood about 3-4 hours before baking the pizza helps too!  The bricks heat up to about 300 degrees Celsius.  Again it is the simplicity of it that I love.  It is also important to not put too many ingredients on top.  The one with just olive oil and rosemary and the one with tomato sauce, capers, anchovies and mozzarella are my favorites.”

C:” What keeps you motivated?”

Guido:
“I work thinking of my family.  The love for my family keeps me going.  I do a good job and have a happy life.  Nothing is missing.  Family is the most satisfactory thing in my life.  I didn’t always want a family and didn’t realize until I had one how much it means to me.  I have a wonderful wife and three terrific children.  It is natural to reproduce.  Nothing else can give you that.  Family is one of the best things I did in my life.  I am so lucky to have everything together here: work, family and the school is just up the road.  When the children were little we were still building Le Fonti.  Vicky’s parents had created a good foundation on which we built and expanded.  They are proud of us and we are grateful to them.  The years of building were hard; now I start to really enjoy it.”


Family, friends and neighbors can be a huge support system in peoples lives.  There are often only fine shades of differences between such roles.
Family Schmitt Vitaly are the most caring neighbors-and friends.  Over the years they have helped us out many times.  Vicky is the best advertiser for the massage work I do, Guido who knows how to do just about anything changes tires, repairs or puts together furniture and during the months when our house is closed Corrado, Vicky’s father, and his dog Emma will always include looking after it on their walks.  Not only do we love their wine but we feel very fortunate to having grown closer over the years and benefit from their generous support.

Like Guido, I’d say: come look at Le Fonti (and try it’s products) for yourself!  In the meantime you can visit their website or find Fattoria Le Fonti on facebook.

~Claudia

Archery as therapy

I had the occasion a few days ago to accompany a friend to the outside shooting range in Florence where she practices shooting her bow and arrow.
She is a champion here in Tuscany and participates in many competitions.
We left before dawn because at 10am it is already too hot to shoot.  This is one of my favorite times of the day to be around, watching the day come in and the world wake up.  It is quiet, sleepy and empty, the lights from the night still are lit and behind the black contour of the hills is a clear light blue and pink sky promising the sun.  Like all “Italians” we grabbed a cappucc (short for cappuccino) and pastry and by 7am she was ready to practice.  There were three other “early bird” archers in this beautiful lawn surrounded by old walls and buildings.

Envisioning a goal or target outside of the daily thoughts in one’s mind, gives the archer a mental break from anything that occupies or worries him/her.  (This reminds me of my husband who says that one thing that can keep his mind off of work is fly fishing, because then his mind is where the fish are).  At the same time, the other part of the archer’s focus is on the correct position of his body (straight between heaven and earth), and the correct movement of his arms pushing the bow and drawing the arrow simultaneously and then releasing the arrow.  For this muscles in the back are used between the shoulder blades;  the beginner does not initially feel these muscles and gradually learns to use them.  The picture of a cross arises, the uprightness of the body, the arrow horizontally in front of the chest and the simultaneous movement of pushing and drawing opens and relaxes the area around the heart.
Releasing the arrow is the moment that all preparation, work and practice leads up to.  There can be no tension and no intention anymore.  Even though the archer aims at the target, in reality it is all about the release.  It is as if the target DRAWS the arrow to itself.

My friend got into archery as a young woman because she was enchanted by it but also she wanted to do something that was only for herself.  For many people, especially women, it is so hard to do something by oneself.  There are children, husbands, friends, parents, work, dogs and cats...there is no end to the needs that call on women (my friend used to practice midwifery).  And so archery in this case, (but it could be many other activities as well), was and still is a savior for her.

Archery, when not used for hunting, teaches how to give freely... to give (letting the arrow go) from the open heart without tension or intention.

My friend, as do also I in my humble efforts at archery, experience the therapeutic effects of shifting one’s focus away from daily concerns and cares.  This takes place in silence and often outside in nature and we feel gradually more centered and peaceful.  Breathing deepens and evens out. Repetition is comforting.  Trying again and again to release the arrow from a place of relaxed openness and freedom may help us to do the same in our lives.

To freely give is simultaneously deeply enriching for giver and receiver - a profound experience of what it means to be human.

~Claudia

Interview with architect Christine Schwaiger

Interview with architect Christine Schwaiger

My friend Christine practices in Vienna and has architectural projects all over Austria and Germany. Her special interest is to help clients transform and/or design the spaces in such a way that they support and enhance their work activities and life-styles.

CP: What can architecture offer to support people’s well being and health?

Christine: 
Considering that architecture is our third skin - the first being our own skin, the second our clothes - you realize the potent impact architecture has on how we behave and feel on a daily basis.
The quality of the materials, the proportions of space, the sequence or flow of spaces within a building, the relationship of inside and outside, color, lighting and design, all matters and influences us.  Architecture that has the well being of people in mind is the result of an intense dialogue between client, builder and architect with the focus on the functional, cultural, climatic and topographic context.  It is my particular interest and architectural expertise to enhance the qualities of any particular context I work on.  Sometimes to achieve this it is necessary to contrast the context. I am not interested in displaying my “art” but to build for the user.  Therefore I spend a lot of time listening to needs and drawing out the un-articulated to create spaces that serve a variety of uses.

Another important factor I want to mention in relationship to our health is to care for the quality of the air inside the buildings.  We can do a lot in this regard by choosing materials that are conducive to air flow and by avoiding insulations that hinder air flow.  In addition I would always encourage avoiding glues, paints, finishes and materials for furniture that oozes out unhealthy fiumes over years and make people sick. My preference would be that through architecture itself the air is always of good quality and the right temperature so that mechanized air conditioning becomes redundant.

CP:  Since we are both sitting here looking at how landscape and architecture are harmonizing in Tuscany since centuries - what would you say can contemporary architecture take away from this?

Christine:
The majority of buildings in Tuscany are built with local materials - like the stone to keep the heat out in the summer.  A lot of attention is paid to air ventilation with well positioned windows, having loggias with shade giving plants that mediate between inside and outside and the building of terrasses both to facilitate agriculture in a hilly and cumbersome landscape as well as around the houses in order to enjoy cool evenings.  The composition of where the houses, terrasses and the trees are positioned in the hills of Tuscany seems perfect and has a calming, harmonizing effect for the eye and for our “Gemut” (comfort).
The Architecture here stands as an example for enhancing and supporting the life and work of the people, taking into consideration the conditions of the climate and working with the particular challenge of a very stony and hilly landscape. All attemps to work with nature and create protection for the human being gives us the basis for a healthy life.

CP:  Thank you Christine - that was beautifully said.  Cheers - to Tuscany!


~Claudia

Think lightly

Think lightly

Breathe deeply

~Claudia