Dear Readers,
Abruzzi born Lorenzo Scarpone, popular and generous president of Villa Italia Wines and pioneer Slow Food activist in the San Francisco Bay Area, was the first person friends and Slow Food members who “wanted to help” tried to contact upon learning about the earthquake that shook up and devastated the Abruzzo Region early Monday morning, April 6, 2009. Callers to his Villa Italia Wines office (210 Littlefield Rd., So. San Francisco (650)873-6060) were told that Mr. Scarpone was out of town: in Verona, Italy attending a wine fair, when the quake struck.
Mr. Scarpone feels his Abruzzi Aid efforts should focus on helping small farmers, shepherds and artisan producers of honey, cheese, preserves etc. because already many groups like the NIAF are helping to rebuild schools, hospitals and structures that left thousands homeless in the main towns, but the small farmers in the hills of Abruzzi, although similarly impacted, will likely be overlooked in the immediate future.
Following is an e-mail Lorenzo Scarpone sent friends shortly after the terrible “terremoto”: “Dear Friends and Slow Food members, I am writing to answer many of the emails inquiring about my family in Abruzzo specifically, and the more general e-mails about what we can do for the victims of the Abruzzo quake.
As soon as I woke up in Verona the morning of April 6, I turned on the television and my cell phone. The news of the earthquake in Abruzzo began to arrive. I was able to reach my family and speak to them. My mother was in a hospital having just undergone a knee replacement surgery and couldn’t walk. She remained in the hospital while the rest of the family slept outside the remainder of the night after the earthquake sent shockwaves through their land a little after 3:00 a.m.
They would go on to spend the next few nights sleeping outside due to the continuation of strong aftershocks. Early afternoon, I left Verona and set out to Guardia Vomano, my hometown in Abruzzo, in the foothills of the Gran Sasso. As soon as I got on the autostrada, I saw hundreds of emergency special team vehicles and a convoy of trucks hauling equipment heading toward Abruzzo.
During my drive I received a call from Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini, who was calling to get an update on what I was seeing of the damages first hand. To be in these regions so close to the epicenter was unnerving and mentally challenging.
How will this population be creative or even think about creativity rebuilding in this chaos and torment when they no longer have a house in which they can think, but instead have to live in a tent? This is what really worries me. Thousands of small farmers have lived and worked on this land for generations.
As Carlo Petrini said many years ago, “who is going to do the work on these small farms in villages scattered in the high mountains?” This is where Slow Food enters. It needs to be concerned for those families of small producers who represent a large portion of the region hit by the earthquake. These farmers in the hills are made up of small families in love with this way of life.
Many groups, like the NIAF, are already helping the schools, hospitals and main towns. I am exploring the possibility of a project to help the small farmers, shepherds and small agricultural companies (cheese, preserves, honey, etc.) in the earthquake zone. Beyond the initial financial assistance, I would like to help stimulate or create a marketplace for their products in order to allow them to continue their “slow” way of life. As I explore these possibilities I will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
Thank you for your e-mails and calls.” Lorenzo Scarpone’s passion for food and wine must be genetic, because the Scarpone Family has maintained farms and vineyards adjacent to his hometown of Guardia Vomano for over 300 years! Raised on a farm where his family produced their own food and grew their own grapes to make wine, Lorenzo was introduced to the importance of culinary and wine-making traditions at a very young age.
This environment nurtured his passion for food and wine and inspired a career path that would eventually lead to the creation of Villa Italia wines. Lorenzo attended the highly regarded Hotel and Restaurant school in Giulianova, Abruzzo and together with his chef brother Marcello opened a top quality seafood restaurant on the Adriatic Coast, at a young age. Anxious to see the world, Lorenzo worked on several international luxury cruise lines and served as a wine steward for Sea Goddess Cruises.
He also worked in several top Italian restaurants in London in order to perfect his English. Lorenzo followed his mentor, renowned restaurateur Giancarlo Paterlini, to San Francisco, and worked for him as manager and sommelier at the noted Donatello Restaurant. In San Francisco Lorenzo met and married his wife Susy, and soon began to raise their three children, Fabio, Sofia and Niccolo.
Anxious to maintain his ties with his extended family in Abruzzo, and to bring the wonderful food and wines of his home region to the U.S., Lorenzo established Villa Italia in 1989 as an Italian wine importing company. Lorenzo was convinced that the regional treasures of Italian viticulture were woefully underrepresented in the world market and set out to remedy the situation.
Villa Italia, founded in 1989, began by importing great value wines of Lorenzo’s native Abruzzi region – Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. In addition, he searched out small producers from other regions of Italy, assembling a portfolio of wines distinguished by their price/quality ratio at all levels. Villa Italia’s wines have received outstanding reviews from Gambero Rosso (Italy’s leading wine journal), Wine Spectator, Robert Parker and Stephen Tanzer.
The Villa Italia company has become a leader in its category, importing the wines of some 37 artisan winemakers to the U.S. Lorenzo was also an early leader of the Slow Food movement, opening their first “convivium” in San Francisco in 1990. From his earliest farming experiences with his father Vincenzo, he has always been a staunch advocate of small-scale, sustainable agriculture and hands-on artisan wine-making.
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Now there is a Locanda Scarpone in Abruzzo. When the opportunity arose to purchase an ideally-situated 15 acres of land and olive grove, with the potential of planting a 5 acre vineyard on the hillside across the river from Guardia Vomano, Lorenzo and his family jumped at the chance.
His wife and sister have renovated the farmhouse into a very comfortable 4 bedroom “agriturismo”, with spectacular views of rolling farmland, the snow-capped Gran Sasso and the blue waters of the Adriatic. About 200 century-old Gentile, Dritta and Tortiglione olive trees produce small quantities of exquisite olive oil. Locanda Scarpone has four guest rooms. Two rooms have one large size bed, called “letto matrimoniale” which is equivalent to an American queen size bed.
One of those rooms has a small bathtub shower combination, while the other room has a shower only. The other two guest rooms have two single beds in each room, called “una piazza e mezza” which is comparable to an American double size bed. Accommodations are available for people with disabilities in one guest room with two single beds.
For more info. Via Scarpone #4, 64020 Guardia Vomano, TE Abruzzo, Italy. US Tel.: 650.873.6060; Fax 650.873.2574. Italy Tel.: 011.39.392.253.4237; Fax 011.39.0861.50.7540
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Update: A website “Sustain Abruzzo” has been set up and a non-profit identification number has been registered with the State of California so they can accept donations, but also assure that beyond the initial financial assistance a market place is created to help small farmers and small agricultural producers find a market for their products long after the dust has settled.
10631 Vinedale Street, Sun Valley, CA 91352 - Phone (818) 767-3413 - Fax: (818) 767-1410
