Tuttotoscana in Chianti: An Exciting New Opportunity for Apicius
By Melanie Wilson
CiboChat is happy to share this article just released on the new issue of Blending Newsletter. Special Event Management Student, Melanie Wilson, reports on the progress of the Capannelle wine resort project and tunes in with involved students for their perspectives on the upcoming event scheduled for April 2013 .
A new opportunity for students of Apicius has emerged this spring semester. The career students from hospitality management, culinary studies, wine and viticulture studies, and pastry will be collaborating to host a weekend at a vineyard for journalists, city representatives, as well as special guests invited by Capannelle. Apicius is teaming up with Capannelle, a vineyard in the Chianti, Tuscan region to build a weekend of hands on experience for these 19 students. The project is now entitled “Tuttotoscana: Sustainable Chianti” and is the spring event version of the FUA-Apicius fall events in New York City. The title means “all things Tuscan” and focuses on the theme of sustainability and why it is an important part of running the Capannelle vineyards.
Students are eager to participate in Tuttotoscana because it enables them to use their skills in a professional setting. This type of study is only valuable, and the learning only beneficial, if it is also put into practice. “As a wine career student I am very excited about this opportunity and have great expectations for this project. The possibility to work directly with a very successful and high-end winery/resort offers layers of experience to us as students. There is a much deeper learning that takes place when given the chance to be hands-on, experiencing a sense of taking part in the real industry, even for a short weekend,” says Katie Brantley, a wine career student.
Because this project is the first of its kind, some students are also anticipating the impact of their work on future collaborations between Apicius and facilities like Capannelle. Hospitality student Grant Isaacson states that he understands that the success of Tuttotoscana will affect the school’s future integrity in this area. “Already in preparation for the event I am better understanding the value of clear communication between parties when organizing an event such as this… [Tuttotoscana will] be a learning process as we further cultivate relations with Capannelle and create such a program that can be continued for future students in forthcoming semesters to also partake in.”
Behind the scenes, six Apicius classes are taking part in the different aspects of Tuttotoscana. Before the career students can take their places to serve guests in April, many students will put effort into this collaboration. Specifically in the Special Events Management course, students are working to make invitations, agendas for guests, and budgets. Gracie Robbins says, “through this class, I have the opportunity to work on a project that I can see develop and be carried out thoroughly. This will help me really understand successful event execution with varying strategies to overcome the obstacles that may crop up during the planning process.”
Capannelle is a winery located in Gaiole in Chianti. It produces approximately 80,000 bottles a year, sustains Apicius wine academics through the Apicius Friends initiative, and has also been a wine sponsor of FUA’s James Beard Foundation events. For information on TuttoToscana’s regular Fall program taking place in Florence and NYC, visit the program page on the FUA site.
Find Capannelle and TuttoToscana on Facebook!