Then Luca glanced at Ross. Ross nodded, but Luca only turned away, continuing his conversation with the tractor drivers.

“This is where wine starts,” Eliana said to Ross, as they approached a large metal bin brimming with grapes. “This is the collector. This is where the tractors dump the grapes we harvest; then the grapes are pushed by a giant corkscrew into the stemmer-crusher . . . that thing,” she said, pointing to a machine next to the bin, “which takes off the stems and crushes the grapes.”

“So the days of stomping grapes by feet are history.”

“Actually we stomped some wine by feet last year. Alessio and I have pictures of our purple feet to prove it. It was a marketing gimmick Maurizio wanted to try. You were in advertising, you understand that. People like the idea of drinking something someone actually stepped on.”

Ross grinned. “Especially when you make it sound so appealing.”

Eliana stepped away from the vat. “Okay, then after the stemmer, the grapes, with their skin and seeds, are sucked up these tubes into the fermentation vats. This way.”

Eliana led him into the cantina. The air was sweet and rich with the smell of new grapes. There were eight large stainless steel tanks, standing vertically in a row.

“Why do they take the skin?”

“Because the skin is part of the wine. Actually it’s the skin that gives red wine its color. The grapes stay in these vats from six days to two weeks. During that time the color leeches into the wine.”

“Do you have to do anything to the wine while it’s in here?”

“A few things. We add yeast cultures to aid the fermentation. The skin of the grapes has its own yeast and it will ferment without ours, but this way we have more control and get a better ferment. And we can monitor the heat. The fermentation causes the heat to rise. If it rises too much, it will kill the fermentation. The wine also needs to be rotated because the grapes naturally separate. The seeds sink to the bottom and the skin rises to the top and forms a cap. If the cap gets too hard, it can trap carbon dioxide in the vat that can suffocate the yeast and also stop the fermentation process. It’s happened to us a few times. It’s not good.”

“Like I said before, you know your wine.”

“I should. I’m the capo’s wife.”

Just then Luca walked into the cantina. “Signorina Ferrini, may I help you with something?”

“No, thank you, Luca. I’m just showing Ross how we make wine.”

He glanced around the room then went back outside.

Eliana stepped closer to Ross. “Okay, after the vats we pump the wine down to the cellar, where we store it in barrels. Want to see?”

“Certo.”

She led him down a concrete stairway into the large, brick-ceilinged cellar. The air was cool and musty. Large oak barrels lined the walls and were stacked in the middle of the floor as well. Each barrel was stenciled with a number.