This is the story of a sunny man and his bond with his origin town through a series of vicissitudes always faced with a smile.
If you ask Nicola Cortina what his town is, Ripi he would immediately reply. For him Ripi is the center of the world and the place where he his building his new house. But if you asked him if he wanted to leave Canada and Quebec City, the answer would unequivocally be 'never'.
And how is it possible to reconcile these two apparently conflicting sentences?
Let's start from the beginning, from Ripi which is a village in Ciociaria not far from Frosinone in a valley whose hills are reminiscent of Tuscany. Each hill has its own castle and the air smells of freshly baked bread.
Nicola is 20 and 7 months old when he leaves Italy for Canada, he is convinced by his cousin who had returned for a visit from Canada and asked him to be his driver. Nicola listens to the stories of this distant country, is exalted by the opportunities and without knowing the language, without having a real job and without having other relatives in Canada besides this cousin, he leaves.
After an initial period of orientation, he arrives in Quebec City and like many Italians he starts from restaurant kitchens.
The family in Canada is very special, and is made up of his wife Assunta, also an Italian from Ceprano - a town near Ripi - and the customers of the restaurants. Nicola loves his customers just as if they were part of his life and this feeling is reciprocated.
For this reason, in 1973, thanks also to the recipes of his wife, the Cortina couple opened their restaurant, the Michelangelo. A name that certainly cannot go unnoticed since this artist is one of the symbols of Italy.
The Michelangelo soon became a reference point for Canadians but also an international meeting place for all wine lovers, its cellar is among the best in the world.
The pleasure and desire to grow the winery takes Nicola around to discover not only Italy but the best wineries in France, California and Chile. If you have the opportunity to speak with him, he will surprise you with the detailed knowledge of an incredible number of places where good wine is produced. And where there is good wine there is also a good life
The family grows up with 3 children Monia, Rocco (like their grandfather) and Melissa and when they can they return to Ripi (and Ceprano) on vacation. The children spend their summers with their cousins and are imbued with Italian culture and country stories. Like that of Nicola's found brother.
Her mother had a son who had been taken from her and who once grew up went in search of his family of origin. He had gone to the registry office and the parish, but no one had been able to connect him to the Cortina family, until a municipality official pronounced the family's nickname: 'mezzett'.
And then a big party and Nicola finds himself an extended family and a nickname that has been chasing him for centuries. But his nickname in Canada is 'crazy - matto', because he happily lived surfing on normality and going in search of surprise. And his son Rocco, who has a passion for catering in his blood, has opened a chain of restaurants called ‘Il matto' in honor of his father Nicola.
A 'crazy man' who celebrated the wedding of his daughter Melissa during COVID (apparently in Canada a person can get permission to celebrate up to 5 weddings during his life) and managed to find good even in sad times.
We will not dwell on the history of Ripi's house because it would be too long: for 20 years he tried to buy the family's home and with daring changes of scene today he crowned the dream of the ancient property. Today he is renovating the old house and has planted a vineyard to recreate roots in Italy, for him but above all for his children and grandchildren.
He could have bought many houses, but for those who leave their town as a young man there is only one: that of the family. This gives the certainty that the roots are in Ripi in Ciociaria also for the new generations.
And what is the name of the wine it produces? Mezzett, and it could not be otherwise. Now all friends will recognize it immediately.
If you go to Ripi you can find the vineyard with its colored poles and if you go to the bar in the square they will immediately tell you if Nicola is in town.
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