The Italian Sister (The Wine Lover's Daughter, Book 1)

by Christa Polkinhorn

  “Are you ready?” Julietta pointed at her water bottle. “You do not need this. We have water at the vineyard.”

  The two stepped outside. It was still dark, but a fine line of silver on the horizon was the first sign of approaching dawn. During the hot summer months, work in the vineyards began before the sun was up and lasted until around noon, when it got too hot for the workers.

  Sofia figured it was going to be at least in the nineties Fahrenheit or around thirty centigrade as she saw on the European thermometer that day. Fortunately for the grapes, the temperature dropped during the nights to the twenties centigrade which was the equivalent of the seventies in Fahrenheit. The high temperatures helped the ripening process and the cooler nights prevented them from ripening too fast or drying out.

  “We have to walk,” Julietta said. “Uncle Edoardo and the others are already there.”

  It was a short distance to the vineyards. As they came close to the fields, dawn was spreading and Sofia saw that quite a few people were at work already. Edoardo’s van was parked nearby. A trimming machine was slowly driving through the rows in between the vines, removing dense foliage at the top of the vines to continue to give sun and air to the ripening grapes. As they approached the field with the Sangiovese grapes, Edoardo stepped out of the vineyard and gave Sofia a quick look-over. He nodded and said something in Italian to Julietta.

  “Uncle Edoardo wants us to work in the Merlot field.” She pointed at the field next to the one they stood at. “They have enough workers here.”

  “Is this in order with you?” Edoardo turned to Sofia.

  “Of course, wherever you need help.” Sofia was surprised at his politeness. “It doesn’t have to be one of my fields. I can help everywhere.”

  Edoardo gave one of his rare smiles. “We will work all the vineyards the next few weeks. Do not worry, there will be plenty of things to take care of.” He removed his hat and wiped his forehead. “There is a young man from your country working over there. He is here to learn about Italian wines and winemaking. He has been helping us last year as well.”

  “Oh, good,” Sofia said, wondering who he was.

  “He is really cute, a hottie.” Julietta pushed Sofia a little with her elbow and wiggled her eyebrows.

  Edoardo glared at her and said something in Italian that sounded like an admonishment. When he turned his back, Julietta stuck out her tongue at him and grinned. Sofia remembered Adriano’s remarks about Julietta being the rebellious teenager. She smiled and followed her as they crossed the gravel path to the next field. A few people, Luisa among them, were checking the grape clusters and cutting off the less developed or weak ones. Luisa’s hair was tied back and wrapped in a yellow scarf. She was wearing jeans and a yellow top. With her suntanned skin and the vivid dark eyes, she was still an attractive woman.

  No wonder her father had fallen in love with her. Sofia tried to imagine how Henry, Luisa, and Julietta had worked together in the vineyard, snipping off clusters of grapes, perhaps smiling at each other, taking a break occasionally and sipping water from the huge bottles that were standing in the shade of the cypress trees next to the vineyards. A wave of pain spread through her chest and regret filled her heart. Why had she been excluded from this for so long? Sofia shook the thoughts from her mind. After all, she didn’t even know what kind of a relationship Luisa and Henry had had. They might not have been that friendly anymore or even worked together.

  A shuffling sound behind her woke Sofia from her musing. Luisa smiled at her, perhaps wondering what she was daydreaming about. Sofia took a deep breath and grabbed the shears Luisa handed her. She told her to work together with Julietta.

  Sofia and Julietta worked in rows next to each other. The workers in the vineyard were spread out evenly so all the vines and clusters got checked. It took Sofia a while to get into the swing of things, adjusting to the speed of the other workers and still being able to concentrate enough on her work. Still, after a while, someone in the next row caught up with her. She first detected him out of the corner of her eyes. When she looked more closely, a fairly tall and very handsome young man with wavy blond hair and dark-brown eyes nodded and smiled at her, then said something in Italian.

  “Sorry?” Sofia asked.

  The young man stopped working and smiled more broadly. “Are you the American sister?” She recognized the American accent and realized that this must be the young man from the United States.

  “Yes, I am, and I guess you are the American vintner. Which part are you from?” They both stopped working for a moment.

  “California, just like you.” He motioned with his head to Julietta. “She mentioned you.” He gave her a questioning look. “Last year, your father was here. I’m sorry to hear of his passing. Juliette told me when I got here. A heart-attack, right?”

  Sofia nodded.

  “At first, I couldn’t believe it. Last time I saw him, he looked so healthy and vibrant. What a loss. I’m so sorry.”

  “Thanks, yes, I still can’t believe it either sometimes.” Sofia took a deep breath.

  “I worked with him last year,” the young man continued. “You weren’t here though.”

  “No, I wasn’t. I didn’t even know about this place.”

  “No?” He stared at her.

  Sofia immediately regretted having mentioned her ignorance about Vignaverde. Her family history wasn’t any of his business. She didn’t even know him. “It’s a long story. But we better continue our work. They’re catching up with us.” She motioned to the workers in the rows next to them who were progressing quite fast.

  “True,” the young man said. “By the way, I’m Nicholas.”

  “I’m Sofia. Pleased to meet you.”

  He nodded and continued with his work. Sofia went back to checking the clusters of grapes. It was quiet and peaceful. Everybody was busy working. There was an occasional exchange of words or someone laughed. After a while, Sofia found her own rhythm and experienced once again the satisfaction of working with her hands.

  Sofia had always liked working in the vineyards. She’d done it sometimes together with her father when she’d been a child and they still had their vineyard at the Russian River. Later, at her in-law’s place, she had taken time off from her office work and helped out during veraison or the harvest. These had been her favorite times. She enjoyed the earthy smell of the soil, the variety of colors from the light green of the vines to the blues and different shades of purple of the grapes next to the green ones. A vineyard to her was a feast for the senses. She also liked the camaraderie among the vintners and helpers, the feeling of harmony, of working toward a common goal—tending the vines and giving the grapes the best chance for a bountiful harvest. She enjoyed writing about winemaking but the hands-on work in the vineyard energized her. It was something she missed when she’d moved to Santa Monica after her divorce. Now, she was able to do it again, and in her own vineyards. A feeling of pride and gratitude flooded her.

  Sofia stopped for a moment, rose and stretched, massaging her by now aching back with her hands. In the meantime, the sun had begun to rise on the horizon.

  An older woman in a row next to hers had caught up with her. She had a wrinkled face and a few strands of curly gray hair had escaped the dark-blue scarf on her head. Her hands, however, worked as nimbly as those of the young people. She glanced at Sofia and gave her a quick smile then continued to work.

  Chapter 15

  In the afternoon, Sofia decided to check out the cellar on the way to her house. Edoardo had given her a quick tour on one of the first days, but she wanted to have a closer look at the barrels with her father’s wine. The cellar was built into the hill, so it was mainly underground. There were two entrances, one from above by means of a staircase and one on even ground next to the winery where the necessary equipment such as connecting hoses between the fermentation tanks and barrels could be brought in.

  Sofia descended the stairs to the lower level and entered the large room
where the long rows of barrels from the past harvest were waiting to be bottled. Down here, the temperature dropped several degrees. She shivered lightly, feeling the sweat on her forehead and body cool. She inhaled the musty and slightly sour smell. It always reminded her of the childhood when she played in the cellar while her father worked.

  The estate of the Santucci family was of medium size and all the barrels were stored in the same cellar. They were stacked in racks lying on their sides, four barrels high, all through the room.

  In the back of the cellar, she heard a noise. She saw someone working a forklift, moving some of the barrels. It was an older man she’d seen a couple of times on the estate. He looked in her direction and nodded. Sofia pointed to the back of the cellar to let him know where she was heading. He nodded again.

  The worker began hoisting a barrel down from the top row and depositing it somewhere else. Sofia was careful not to get close to the machine, so she wouldn’t be in the way. She walked slowly toward the part of the cellar where she remembered having seen the barrels with the wine from her Merlot and Sangiovese grapes. She looked at them with a mixture of pride and sadness. They were part of her father’s double-life and now belonged to her. She was happy to be able to continue the care of her father’s cherished grapes and his love of winemaking, but seeing the barrels once again made her realize how much she missed him, how this estate and its people still felt unreal to her. It was as if her father had assumed a different identity here in Tuscany. He was someone she didn’t really know and she wouldn’t have the opportunity to ever know. She shook her head, trying to chase the thoughts and sadness away. What good did it do to linger on something she couldn’t change?

  Turning back, she saw that the forklift had moved and the man was working at a stack of barrels closer to her. She was getting ready to move away when he hoisted another barrel. The forklift swung around in her direction and the barrel ended up above her head. She stepped back quickly and at the same time, someone pulled her away. There was a loud shout and the next thing she witnessed was the barrel dropping to the floor with a loud crash right where she had stood just a few seconds ago.

  She inhaled sharply, her knees wobbled under her, and her heart was racing. The old man slid down from the forklift and stared at her with wide-open, terror-filled eyes. She turned to look at the person who pulled her to safety. It was Nicholas.

  “My God, that was close,” he said. His face looked white in the dim light of the cellar. “Are you okay?”

  Sofia was shaking. “I … I think so. I can’t believe this. I thought I was standing far away from the forklift and he knew I was here. So what …?”

  “I don’t know what happened. I just came in when the forklift turned. You’re not supposed to turn that fast. It’s very dangerous. Umberto obviously lost control of the forklift. I know forklifts are dangerous but he should know better.”

  “Who is Umberto?” Sofia asked, her heart still beating fast.

  “He lives on the property. I’m not sure what his function is. But I know he drinks too much.”

  “Cosa c’è? What’s happening?” she heard a voice from the entrance. It was Edoardo. He came in and stared at them, then at the old man who stood next to the forklift.

  Nicholas told him briefly what had happened.

  “He should not work the forklift,” Edoardo said. He walked over to the man and talked to him in a loud and angry voice in Italian.

  “What are they talking about?” Sofia asked. She couldn’t understand anything.

  “Edoardo told Umberto he had no business being in the cellar and working the forklift.”

  Edoardo threw up his hands and turned around. He came up to Sofia. “Are you all right?”

  Sofia nodded. “Yes, thanks to Nicholas who pulled me away.”

  Edoardo stared at the barrel lying on the floor. It didn’t seem to be damaged.

  “Umberto should not work this machine,” he said. “He is too old and … well. I am very sorry this happened. But be careful in the cellar with the forklift. Accidents do happen, so make sure to stay away from any of the machines.”

  Sofia was getting irritated. It seemed Edoardo put some of the blame on her. “I was watching very carefully.”

  Edoardo nodded. “Let’s get out of here. Thank God, nothing happened.”

  “I just wanted to have a look at the barrels with my wine,” Sofia said. She hated Edoardo’s patronizing ways. It wasn’t her fault that they employed incompetent workers.

  At that moment, Umberto came up to them.

  “Scusami, ho sbagliato,” he said. It sounded like an apology. He trembled and looked really shaken.

  “It’s okay. Fortunately nothing happened,” Sofia said, feeling a little sorry for him.

  Edoardo and Umberto left the cellar with Edoardo still talking in an angry voice admonishing Umberto who shuffled along, his shoulders slumped. Nicholas and Sofia followed behind.

  Outside, the sun was low on the sky and the heat had diminished a little. Sofia was still in shock from the incident with the barrel. “Thank God, you were there,” she said to Nicholas. “You saved my life.”

  He smiled. “Not quite. You stepped back just in time. But yes, I don’t even want to think about what could’ve happened. These barrels are heavy.”

  “Anyway, thanks for being there,” Sofia said. They slowly walked the small path uphill toward Sofia’s house. Sofia stopped halfway, shaking her head. The longer she thought about the near-accident, the less sense it made. “I don’t understand how this could’ve happened,” she said. “He saw me. He nodded at me. I was in a different area of the cellar than he was working at. And then all of a sudden the forklift was next to me and the barrel over my head. It’s almost as if he did it on purpose.” Sofia glanced at Nicholas.

  Nicholas narrowed his eyes. “This doesn’t make sense. Why would he want to do this?”

  Sofia shrugged. She felt sorry having expressed her suspicions. Nicholas didn’t know anything about her situation, about the fact that the family may resent her for having inherited her father’s vineyards. But he was right. It wouldn’t make sense.

  “Never mind,” she said. “So many things have happened within the past few months with my father’s death and all that. I see ghosts everywhere.”

  “I understand but I really think he was drunk. He lost control of the forklift. I bet they’ll never let him work it again. They better not,” Nicholas said, giving Sofia a pensive look. She was struck by his warm brown eyes.

  They continued on their way and separated in front of Sofia’s place. Nicholas walked in the direction of a cottage where he stayed with some other workers during his time at the estate.

  Chapter 16

  It was just around sunset. Sofia was sitting on the patio, drinking lemonade and watching the spectacular display of color as the sun was lowering itself behind the horizon, filling the hills and meadows with purples and different shades of brown and yellow. It was peaceful in the evenings but Sofia felt frazzled after almost having been crushed by a barrel of wine. How odd. The incident gave the idea of death by alcohol a whole new meaning. She still couldn’t understand why it happened. It really didn’t make sense. Even if Umberto had been drunk, why did he drive the forklift over to where she stood?

  Sofia thought she heard a knock at the door and got up to open it. Julietta was outside, handing her a basket with vegetables from her family’s garden.

  “Thank you,” Sofia said with a smile and waved her inside.

  “Zio Edoardo told me what almost happened to you in the cellar,” Julietta said. “Are you okay?”

  Sofia shrugged. “Yes, I’m still alive. My nerves are shot though.”

  They both went outside and sat on the patio. “Want some lemonade?” Sofia asked.

  Julietta nodded. “I’ll get another glass,” she said, got up, and went into the kitchen. Sofia realized that Julietta knew her way around the house better than she did. She had practically lived here when Henr
y was with her. Sofia felt a pang of jealousy in her chest. She hated feeling resentful toward her sister. It wasn’t her fault after all.

  Julietta came back, poured herself a glass of lemonade and sat down. “This stupid Umberto,” she said, after taking a sip. “I don’t know why Nonno keeps him around. He drinks too much and he doesn’t do any work.”

  “Nonno keeps him around?” Sofia asked.

  “Well, actually, everybody does. He is just an old friend of Nonno’s but the two argue all the time.”

  Sofia gazed at the darkening fields in front of her. “I think he did it on purpose.” She didn’t know if it was true, but it kept bothering her.

  Julietta looked at her dumbfounded. “Why?”

  Sofia shrugged and sighed. “I don’t know. I just have a feeling. I’m probably wrong.”

  “But why would he do something like this? This does not make sense.”

  Sofia thought about the figure she had seen during the storm, the dead bird with its twisted neck. “Perhaps someone wants me gone.”

  Julietta stared at her and seemed genuinely stunned. “Why?”

  Sofia didn’t want to tell her about her discussion with Adriano Gori about the family. She felt he had told her in private. “What if the family is upset that I inherited the two vineyards from my father? If I wasn’t here, they would go to you. Don’t you feel unhappy about this?” Sofia challenged her.

  Julietta still looked at her with unbelieving eyes. “Why should I?”

  “Well, doesn’t your family feel I’m an intruder?” Sofia prodded.

  Julietta shook her head. “You really think I want to take your vineyards away from you? Is that why you are so … so distrustful of me? I don’t want your stupid vineyards. I don’t want any vineyards at all.” A sob escaped her and she glared at Sofia.

  Sofia was taken aback by her sister’s outburst. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be distrustful. But look at it from my point of view. I had no idea that this existed.” Sofia swept her arm in an arc taking in the fields around her. “I didn’t know about you. I didn’t know I had a sister. It was such a shock. It still is. I always wanted a sister and when I found out Henry had kept you hidden from me for so long …” Sofia’s voice broke.