Hi Folks,
Today I want to write about the beautiful time of September when we experience harvesting in Tuscany.
For me especially September is a magic moment, everyone is busy collecting the juicy wine grapes to produce the new wine, I’ vino novo.
I grew up in a family farm so I remember exactly that excitement of the morning of the first day of the harvest and the real experience of Harvesting in Tuscany. That morning smells different, everyone is over excited and woke up super early, checking scissors, boots, clothes and the feeling that in 1 hour your hands will be sticky and covered in red juice.
All family friends were prepared for an intense day of loud chats, funny stupid jokes, big italian fights with grandpa that was never happy about kids(me) running around picking the wrong bunch or mixing red with white grapes and many others mistakes a child could do.
September is about this, family, wine and a look of what the year has been and the preparation for the winter. The experience of Harvesting in Tuscany has a lot of things to do with roots and rituals.
Tuscany without this ceremonial could not be the same.
Even now due to my job and the lack of time, I’m always very busy in September, I wake up with the same feeling and the same spirit every year in this period. Seeing those grapes hanging on the plants is always a pleasure and a refresh to my memories.
If you come to visit Tuscany during the harvesting period, in every street, you see trucks or tractors or funny 3 wheels machines(Ape) driving around full of baskets full of grapes and it seems to smell fermented wines everywhere.
It is in the air wine and you can see with your eyes how busy the cellars are to organize the job and not to make mistakes to have the best vintage ever. Like every year we always hope it’s the best year ever for grapes.
This 2020 so far has been quite hard but for grapes and olives it seems it will be a marvellous year. Fingers crossed.
If by any chance you hike in Tuscany during harvesting and you want to visit a wine cellar better be sure to book ahead a tasting, due the amount of work they are processing in this period.
Hiking through the Chianti Classico wine region, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chianti_(region), right now is the best present you could do to yourself. Imagine walking and seeing those ruby juicy round berries hanging on the plants calling your name, ahahahha. Then you walk by people working in the vineyard that can tell you amazing stories about their territory and their lives and what it means for them Chianti Classico. Than rewarding yourself with a glass of their wine is always an unforgettable Tuscan experience.
https://www.outoftheboxflorence.com/tour/the-great-chianti-classico-crossing/
