The duh in dVinci and Grappa

August 1, 2011 | Tommy dAquino

I was with Vince when he first started d'Vinci Interactive. He always told me that I was the 'duh'; of d'Vinci - even though he had the name long before we started working together. Still, it made me feel good that I was the 'duh.'

Our first project was "McGruff's ABCs of Crime Prevention and Child Safety" for AlphaPoetic, an edutainment company based in Toronto, Canada. At one point during development, the project warranted a trip to Canada for some client face time and review. To Vince and Tommy, this meant "road trip"!!!

We packed for a couple days and loaded the Previa (there was no way the blue "van" would have made it.) It was a mid-December trip, and my first venture to Canada. Our route took us through Buffalo, through the cheesy, blinking wonderland that surrounds Niagara Falls, and into Canada.

Being that this was not Vince's first visit with the client, he was the seasoned vet that introduced me to the world of loonies and Molson! It was a great time, though pretty short-lived.

On the way back, he introduced me to the duty-free shop at the border. At the time, I had never heard of such a place, since I wasn't much of a worldly traveler. We browsed and marveled at the great prices of items in a venue of no government taxes. There was one bottle of liquor, called "Grappa" from Italy that particularly caught my eye. It was in a clear and tall, cylindrical tapered bottle. It's beauty intrigued me, and I wondered what taste would be encased in such an attractive presentation. No matter. By this point in the trip, we were pretty tapped out and we left the store with no purchases (or so I thought.)

About two weeks later, Vince stopped over at my Mom's house on Christmas Day to wish the D'Aquino's a Merry Christmas and to exchange gifts with me. Well, needless to say, I was quite pleasantly surprised when I pulled this elegant bottle of elixir from the gift bag.

After sharing the back-story with my family, everyone was anticipating tasting the distillation. Within minutes, a few shot glasses were out, and Vince and I toasted to a merry Christmas.

Oh, My GOD! was this stuff awful!!!! FIREWATER!!!  Horrid!!...and boy, did we start laughing!

Of course, as soon as everyone saw our reactions, no one else was going to try the stuff. So, we came up with an idea to pretend to videotape TV commercials for this wonderful drink! Here was the script and the direction:

Look right into the camera, and with a big smile, hold the shot up beside your face, and say, "Grappa! I drink it...." then drink the shot, keep looking at the camera, keep smiling, and continue...."You should, too!"

Everyone tried it. No one could do it! It was so funny!!! Everyone was laughing so hard we were all crying! We would smile and say, "Grappa! I drink it!".....then as soon as that stuff touched your mouth, your smile would just instantly sour, and no one could finish the commercial. We were rolling hysterically for hours.

Oh, my....that day will live forever with my family, as will many fond memories of Vince.

Vince, you are an inspiration to me. I strive to have your patience, compassion, and easy-going attitude. I will miss you. Thank you for making me smile through the most awful thing I've ever tasted!

-----Tommy d'Aquino