I really love hard work and individual responsibility, and view these as core tenants. I’m also very drawn to the idea that patience, pleasure, and beauty are essential to a balanced life. And I’ve always felt a little off-balance growing up in American culture: so when I graduated college I went to work on a farm just outside of Siena to continue my Italian studies and compliment an Environmental Studies degree. The Italians I worked with there were extremely hard working, but knew when to stop and enjoy the remains of the day. The idea that great food, wine, and company were a huge part of life really resonated with me, and it’s something I wanted to bring back to the US, even in my small way.

I was very influenced by my time spent working at a winery named COS in Sicily. They were simple but profound lessons: on my first day one of the owners, Giusto Occhipinti, asked me to go through the vineyard block by block and assess whether the grapes were ready to pick. I was astonished he would ask a harvest intern to do what was likely the most important task of the year (and in hindsight I’m sure he went out there himself as well), but he replied “you are human, you know what ripe fruit tastes like”. The succinct, almost too obvious lesson was to trust your own taste, and your own experiences. I wanted to bring a bit of that back home where we still have a young culture around wine and look for external, expert validation. To be clear, these experts are incredible guides, but again, this idea of balancing forces and getting back-to basics is appealing to me.

Oh gosh, I have to choose? Having a good source for prosciutto is a gift—Di Bruno has a selection of excellent options depending on your mood.