Some ideas to attend at the grape harvest, getting to the heart of the autumnal atmosphere
The grape harvest is a ritual and a feast, as well as the opportunity to enjoy wine tasting, preferably organic, and to welcome autumn.
At one time the Romans in the time of harvest of the grapes organized great feasts in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine and ecstasy, to solemnize the grapes deposited in the cellar and the first wort. This important ritual, involving the entire community in a great time of celebration, is arrived unscathed until us.
The tradition takes place every year from mid-August to November, crossing beautiful places of our country. The first grape harvest took place in Sicily, under the starry sky of August 16 in the vineyards of Donna Fugata, while the last one in November in northern Italy, where the climate is colder and the grapes ripen more slowly.
The the most challenging grape harvest is certainly in the Cinque Terre, where Ligurian farmers are forced to climb the spectacular terraces overlooking the sea. To gather the ripe grapes they have to travel considerable differences in height, with the help and participation of more and more tourists and voluntaries, that enjoy picking the grapes and enjoy a good glass of “Sciachetrà”.
To getting to the heart of the italian autumn atmosphere, we suggest to join a grapes harvest!
How to participate in the grape harvest?
To get to the heart of the grape harvest, dirtying your hands and feet of grape must, we suggest one the many organic farms that allow you to take part in the magic moment of the grape harvest.
A few kilometers from Castiglion Fiorentino (Siena, Tuscany), the Pievuccia, a typical Tuscan farmhouse surrounded by greenery, offers the opportunity to participate in the grape harvest. A feast, which begins in the vineyard all together, grown with biodynamic method, where you select the ripe grapes, and continues in the winery where they are transformed in a natural way. You can decide what to do, a walk through the vineyards, discover the secrets of winemaking in the winery and in the “vinsantaia“, or simply taste the excellent local wines.
Do not miss, in addition to the ritual of the harvest, a walk through the streets of Castiglion Fiorentino, up to the magnificent sixteenth-century loggia of Vasari, in front of the Town Hal
l, a real natural balcony from which to admire the breathtaking views of the Val di Chio .
Info: Farmhouse La Pievuccia
Do you know other organic farms that offer the opportunity to participate in the exciting ritual of the harvest? If so, please report!
In this autumnal weekend, the appointment is therefore between the screws. In our case those of Lesignano de Bagni, in the province of Parma, grown by the GAStronauti, whose grapes are squeezed by the happy feet of children, and processed in the sweet nectar of Bacchus.
Cover photo: Italian Grape, ph. by Antonello de Rosa, via Flickr