Wine isn't just a drink to the men of the Villa Da Vinci retirement community in Woodbridge, Ontario. For them, the art of wine is a necessary part of living.
So every week, from eight to 15 men get together to make, sample and discuss wine.
Salute! Giuseppe Conte raises his glass at the Villa Da Vinci reiterment community in Woodbridge as Domenico Macri gets ready to sample another bottle of wine. Although the men who make wine at the villa enjoy themselves immensely, it's a serious hobby.
photograph by Ken Kerr
"It's something in common to share among ourselves. It's part
of our culture," 84-year-old Giuseppe Conte says through an
interpreter.
"It is an opportunity not just to have a drink, but to have
fun and be with friends," says Conte, who was born in Torella
di Sanio, Italy.
It's obvious that while the men enjoy themselves immensely, wine-making
is a serious hobby.
"It provides
a sense of accomplishment, of achieving a personal goal," says Giuseppe Marini,
81, a native of Sossano, in northern Italy, who lives with his wife at Villa Da Vinci. "For example, last year I made a good wine, now I want to make it
better. And to do so, I experiment with different grapes."
The cantina
is a special activity offered at Villa Da Vinci, which, like all of Amica Mature
Lifestyles' retirement communities, creates programs to respond to the needs of
its residents. Amica has 17 retirement communities and skilled nursing residences
in five provinces across Canada, including five in the Greater Toronto Area.
Villa Da Vinci's cantina got off to a tasty start last fall during its wine and
cheese festival, which it hopes to repeat this year.
"Grapes and barrels
were brought in and residents and volunteers joined together for a terrific grape
stomping," says Sara Tripodi, general manager of Villa Da Vinci. "Remember
that episode of I Love Lucy? It was just like that and a lot of fun. People wore
costumes, and there was lots of wine and food."
Villa Da Vinci opened
in July 2001 and is home to about 90 people. Much of this year's first batch of
wine had already been started before residents moved in. But a lot of bottling
is now being done, and it has created a little competition.
"We talk
about what grapes are right for what wine, the correct strength of the wine, as
well as whether whites are preferred to reds," says Conte, a widower.
According
to wine folklore, "bottling should only be done on a full moon and a sunny
day," says Tripodi.
So wine is bottled just once a month, usually
20 bottles at a time. The wine isn't for sale; it's simply enjoyed by residents
and their friends and families. Both red and white wine are bottled, complete
with special labels.
"We're hoping to expand things a bit further
and introduce different grapes," says Robert Imola, Villa Da Vinci's wellness
and vitality co-ordinator. "We're hoping soon to begin making grappa, the
popular Italian digestive."
The cantina's costs are included in the
residence's activity program. The only additional cost is the grapes.
