Wine education: Italy and US compared [pictures]
I recently posted about a pamphlet that our six-year-old son brought home from school equating wine and pot.
A friend living in the Veneto, Italy writes in with this comparison:
I thought I would share the work that our son brought home from his Montessori pre-school today: filastrocca del vino. A page of rhyming verse about making grapes into wine. Followed by pages to color about grapes + wine including a smiling Chianti bottle. Their fall learning unit was covering varietals through learning about grapes.
After the jump, find the text of the rhyming verse and a couple more pics (no joints).
Here is the rhyming verse (see more here and a loose translation here).:
FILASTROCCA DEL VINO
DALLA PERGOLA NASCE L’UVA:
PRIMA E’ ACERBA POI MATURA.
LA RACCOGLIE IL CONTADINO
E LA SCHIACCIA DENTRO IL TINO.
BOLLE IL MOSTO GIORNO E NOTTE,
POI FINISCE NELLA BOTTE.
NELLA BOTTE SI RIPOSA
FINCHE’ E’ VINO COLOR ROSA.
DOPO TANTE SETTIMANE
VA A RIEMPIR LE DAMIGIANE,
MA LI’ DENTRO NON VUOL STARE:
ORA E’ PRONTO DA INFIASCARE.
PER LA FESTA DI FAMIGLIA
PASSA POI NELLA BOTTIGLIA;
NEI BICCHIERI VIEN VERSATO
E DA TUTTI E’ BEN GUSTATO.
On November 18th, 2009 at 9:44 am ,Richard wrote:
This is a great example of the negative attitudes to alcohol that pervade in the US and to a lesser extent in my homeland of the UK. But I’d be willing to bet there are more alcoholics per capita in both the UK and the US than in Italy… Can anyone substantiate my claim or am I talking out of my hash-pipe?
On November 18th, 2009 at 10:42 am ,Cheferia - Andy wrote:
This is a slightly better translation by myself:
From pergola grapes born
before is unripe then is ripe.
The farmer pick it up
and crush it in the vat.
The must boil day and night
then it ends in the barrel.
In the barrel it rests
until it’s pink colour wine.
After many weeks
goes to fill the demijohns.
But there, it doesn’t want to stay
now it’s ready to bottle.
For the family’s feast
then it pass into the bottle;
in glasses it’s been poured
and from all it’s been tasted.
It’s not perfect (not easy for me to translate a poem as I’m Italian!) but it’s better than google translate!
On November 18th, 2009 at 10:47 am ,Cheferia - Andy wrote:
And in school our children learn a lot of old poems about wine and usually once a year they also goes to visit farms and they can discover “live” the wine production chain. At my friend’s son school they also produced their own wine with children and they bring it home to us for tasting!
On November 18th, 2009 at 11:10 am ,Sean wrote:
Great post. I think that an argument could easily be made that much of the abuse of alcohol (esp. binge drinking) in the US results from the negative attitudes or taboo ascribed to it. Parents, let your kids be taught reading, writing and math by their teachers; don’t let schools educate them about alcohol, morality, etc.
On November 18th, 2009 at 12:26 pm ,DavidF wrote:
A learning unit devoted to grape varietals? That’s civilized.
On November 18th, 2009 at 12:47 pm ,Lyman Dally wrote:
I see a lot of unruly kids that could use a glass of wine (or sippy-cup of wine) instead of the sugar drinks their parents give them……..
On November 18th, 2009 at 1:24 pm ,Wine Web Wednesdays | Swirl Smell Slurp wrote:
[…] Chianti: Visual comparison of wine education in Italy and the […]
On November 18th, 2009 at 2:07 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Cheferia – Andy: thanks for the translation–much better than googletranslate! And great stories from Italian schools.
@Richard and @Sean – It does seem that alcoholism in America (and perhaps the UK) is more diagnosed than it is in Europe. I wonder if the rates are really different and if so what explains it? Different cultures of consumption? Longer histories of production? Or overdiagnosis in America? A complex issue to be sure…
On November 18th, 2009 at 3:04 pm ,Lyman Dally wrote:
Upon further inspection of both publications; I’m now more concerned over the lack of skilled draftsmanship in the American example. It not only says that Italy appreciates wine, it also appreciates better art!
On November 18th, 2009 at 5:05 pm ,Mary wrote:
I grow up helping my father crushing grapes in my little winery in Italy and every adults in my family drinks wine during lunch and dinner. They are never drunk and they teach kids about wine and health. I think is all about education and responsibility.
On November 18th, 2009 at 6:39 pm ,Carlene Gutowsky wrote:
All You Need Is Wine is the prefect party game to entertain your guests, and makes a great gift. It is a blind wine tasting party game. Check it out at http://www.allyouneediswine.com.
On November 18th, 2009 at 7:04 pm ,Mark wrote:
It’s pretty interesting to think about children learning about the wine making process. I think in the states alcohol is often so taboo that it becomes more of a problem then elsewhere in the world….or maybe it is the lack of centralized downtowns and public transportation!
On November 19th, 2009 at 10:13 am ,Pat Thomson wrote:
My Italian husband, Claudio, started drinking wine at age 5 — usually mixed with water, sometimes added to soup. But wine was a fixture on the family dinner table. “Every Italian table has bread and wine to start, and then the rest would follow,” Claudio always says.
As a special treat for the kids, Claudio’s uncle, a trattoria owner, would take a plate of snow and mix it with red wine and sugar to make a Barbera or Dolcetta snow cone. Viva italia!
On November 19th, 2009 at 11:34 am ,someone wrote:
Statistics say that the average french adults consume a little too much alcohol. Might be the same for Italy.
However, countries with prohibition like Sweden and USA seem to have even more problems.
Good education imho is much better than prohibition.
On November 22nd, 2009 at 7:57 pm ,Dylan wrote:
It’s a striking difference from your earlier post. Not to mention, her son did a great job with the coloring exercise.
On November 23rd, 2009 at 2:32 pm ,Last Week in Wine Blogs | Mutineer Magazine wrote:
[…] The good doctor is pumped about little Italian kids getting wine themed coloring projects. [Dr. Vino] […]
On November 24th, 2009 at 1:02 pm ,Reader poetry slam: wine education for kids [giveaway] | Dr Vino's wine blog wrote:
[…] or free monthly updates by email (right sidebar). Thanks for visiting!In our recent discussion of wine education for kids, two readers thoughtfully provided translations of an Italian rhyming verse (”Filastrocca del […]
On November 27th, 2009 at 2:38 am ,SGS wrote:
I think a big difference b/w Italy (& France, Spain, Portugal, &…) & US wine consumption is the association w/ food. I’ve never heard of Italians getting together at a bar to slam drinks. Even at wine bars. I’ve seen Italians have a bit too much, but almost never so hammered that they are vomiting and passing out. The alcohol simply isn’t the focus – it’s the food and company. It also helps that the vast majority of the wines are gentler – an Italian neighbor I spoke w/ yesterday was rolling his eyes at the strength of a 13.5% cab franc.
On November 5th, 2011 at 10:50 pm ,Premiere site on British National FoodPremiere site on British National Dish wrote:
Premiere site on British National FoodPremiere site on British National Dish…
[…]Wine education: Italy and US compared [pictures] | Dr Vino's wine blog[…]…
On October 9th, 2012 at 6:11 pm ,Valentina wrote:
I can confirm, alcohol here isn’t the focus, rather being together in good company. My father uses to drink a glass of wine at lunch, and a bit more when he’s with his friends; all in all, it seems that it helps him fighting cholesterol (he almost hasn’t got any). I use to drink some wine too, not much because I can’t handle it past one glass, but I really enjoy it and I consider it an integral part of my italian roots. May I share with you a nice poem we usually study in elementary school, not specifically wine-related, but which shows the still strong connection we have on country-life:
San Martino
La nebbia a gl’irti colli
piovigginando sale,
e sotto il maestrale
urla e biancheggia il mar;
ma per le vie del borgo
dal ribollir de’ tini
va l’aspro odor dei vini
l’anime a rallegrar.
Gira su’ ceppi accesi
lo spiedo scoppiettando:
sta il cacciator fischiando
su l’uscio a rimirar
tra le rossastre nubi
stormi d’uccelli neri,
com’esuli pensieri,
nel vespero migrar.
I found this translation, which is quite accurate (the author is unknown, unfortunately)
San Martino
Drizzling, the fog
the steep hills climbs,
and the northwest wind torments
the howling, foaming sea:
but in the village streets
the seething vats send forth
the pungent smell of wine
and cheer the weary souls.
On fiery logs the roast
turns on its spit and crackles;
the hunter stands and whistles
and watches from his door
the flocks of birds that,
back upon reddish clouds,
like forlorn thoughts gyrate
at dusk, preparing to migrate.