Leonardo da Vinci is remembered as many things — artist, inventor, and scientist. “Boozer”, however, is rarely included on the great man’s introduction. That might change now that scientists have brought back into use da Vinci’s own vineyard (葡萄园).
Da Vinci was a great lover of wine. So much so that Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, offered him a vineyard as payment for “the Last Supper”, which he painted for the refectory (餐 厅) of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan in 1498. It survived for centuries after his death, until it was destroyed by a fire in 1943.
With it was lost any hope of looking for inspiration from the same source that once encouraged the painter of “Mona Lisa”. That is, until 2007, when Luca Maroni, an oenologist, decided to dig the site in the hope that some vine roots had survived the fire. He teamed with Attilio Scienza, an expert on viniculture, and Serena Imazio, a geneticist, and they began to dig. Finding some roots, the team subjected them to testing at the Università degli Studi in Milan. In 2009 they recognized da Vinci’s grapes as Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, a variety that is still grown in Italy today.
That discovery set off having some fun in da Vinci’s vineyard. Dr. Imazio searched Italy to find grapes similar to the roots, bringing them back to Milan and copying the original layout of the vineyard. Located in the gardens of the Casa degli Atellani, just two minutes’ walk from “The Last Supper”, it has been open to visitors since 2015.
The vineyard produced its first harvest in September 2018. Now, after a long wait, da Vinci’s wine is ready to drink. The first 330 bottles, based on a design found in da Vinci’s Codex Windsor, will be sold later this year. For those not lucky enough to buy a bottle, the vineyards of the nearby Castello di Luzzano, also thought to have been owned by the Duke of Milan, produce a wine made from the same type of grape and inspired by da Vinci. You can enjoy a glass after a pleasant walk through his vineyard.
8. What does Paragraph 2 show?
A.The high price of wine. | B.Da Vinci’s liking for wine. |
C.The difficulty of making wine. | D.Da Vinci’s pity for the refectory. |
9. Why did Maroni decide to dig the site?
A.To rebuild the site. | B.To look for the vine roots. |
C.To save da Vinci's art piece. | D.To develop a new kind of vine. |
10. Who can be called lucky people according to the last paragraph?
A.Those who get the wine made by Castello di Luzzano. |
B.Those who bought the old bottles made in da Vinci’s times. |
C.Those who visited the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. |
D.Those who buy the first wine produced by da Vinci's vineyard. |
11. What might be the best title for this text?
A.Will is power | B.Wine in, truth out |
C.Old wine in new bottles | D.It is the first step that costs |