DOCG PROSECCO,MY STORY

I’m Claudia Adami, Italy's youngest producer Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) Prosecco and I’m making wine after Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.I have been immersed in the world of wine since birth. I was born and grew up in my mum and dad’s vineyard [Riva dei Frati in Valdobbiadene]. My grandfather indroduced me to sweet wine and in restaurants with my parents, I would startle waiters by asking, “Mum, Dad, isn’t there a little bit of wine for me as well?” I was engrossed in all aspects of the work in the vineyard. It’s fun helping with the fairs, or organizing inside the winery, but it’s also great to experience the moment of the harvest, or when you bottle the wine, or the moment in which you inspect the wine.After this informal internship within the family business, I have now struck out on my own – in my late great-uncle's vineyard in the subzone of Cartizze. He had bequeathed the site to Adami’s father, who in turn suggested me take the reins. In February 2011, I formally established my winery, Fra le Rose (“Among the Roses”). And I  also studied languages by day at Ca’Foscari University in Venice, and agriculture and enology by night.At the time, I came upon the experimental work of Giancarlo Cignozzi, owner of Il Paradiso winery in Tuscany. For many years Cignozzi has been treating his vines with music therapy, convinced that the soundwaves music produces deter parasites and predators. Since 2005, he has been involved in a joint study of the benefits with the agricultural faculty of the University of Florence.I’m a believer. Come September and the harvest I will conduct my own experiments, inviting people to play violins on one day, the piano accordion on another, the piano the next (my cousin has volunteered to be at the keys). I will then make a prosecco called “Nona Sinfonia,” after Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, for which I’m currently preparing the labels.Furthwermore, the 12^Th of July I starded my plan with the baptism of the vines: seventy children came with their teacher to adopt their own vine. This was just a clue, included in my plan trying to make them understand the value of our territory. Pest and predator control aside, I hope to improve the environment for the workers who hand-pick grapes, by using music to create a more festive atmosphere. So far Adami's initiative has been met, perhaps unsurprisingly, with enthusiasm. One man, offered to take up his piano accordion immediately, and others have reacted "with a smile.”I acknowledge that once the initial experiment is over, it will be necessary to establish what the real benefits are of providing music – for vines and workers alike.