The end is the beginning – this is how I would describe the wine harvest. This may seem to be a bit of a romantic vision but the wine harvest is indeed romantic, isn’t it? To reap the benefits, one must never give up.
Behind all of the heavy machinery lies the passion and love of people who have made wine production their life. People who never give up. There are some years when storms are so intense that they can wash away a year’s worth of hard labor. They’re called disastrous years, as it take just an instant to destroy everything. Nevertheless, everyone continues at full force. And everyone continues once again with the hope that the weather will once again prove fruitful to the grapes.
The grape harvest in essence is really the end and the beginning both at the same time. The fruits of the land are harvested in this very period, and the creation of wine follows.
Harvest season is no laughing matter. It’s not like in the films. You won’t find memorable scenes of grape crushing with Adriano Celentano form the “Taming of the Scoundrel”. As romantic as the harvest season can be, don’t fooled by romance. The grape harvest is a result of careful study and skilled labor. Careful work goes into each process, and extreme professionalism is a must. The difference is in the detail.
It’s clear I’m speaking about quality wine. Wines of a different caliber. Because there are differences among grape harvests. We want to tell you about the best. Words aren’t enough though, so we wanted to see it for ourselves. We wanted to see how passion could turn into wine and touch the grape bunches, smell the aromas, see the sweat of hard work, walk on the ground that creates their very wine and hear the voices of wine producers during one of their most important time of year. And we did it! We went to the vineyards themselves.
Let It Wine went to see first-hand how grape harvest is done. We got a dose of Italian reality, the type even international wine lovers know of. We saw some of the most famous of Italian Tuscan wine in the making – Carpineto wine!
The Carpineto wine estate was founded by Antonio Mario Zaccheo and Giancarlo Sacchet. We know them well but have never actually seen their work in action. Especially at one of the most critical moments in wine production – the harvest. We got to see grapes being handpicked right on their very fields.
On this journey, at these wine estates, Tuscany resonates strongly within us and we not only experience a wine harvest but a monumental culture moment that can’t be replicated anywhere else.
Bon Voyage!
