08 Ott AUTUMN: TIME TO GRAPE HARVEST

At the end of summer, hills become full of colors and scents that delight the sense.
When you go to visit them, it seems to be plunged in a sea of colours from bright green to the warm colors of the Autumn.
This season is completely to discover with its mushrooms, chestnuts and fine wine. And it’s only the beginning.
The grape harvest is a process of harvesting the grapes to vinification, but anthropologically it was a ritual rich of emotions, convivial and festive to bring people together. It was an appointment waited for a long time, in order to see the results of a work year.
In the ancient Rome was custom to celebrate the grape and its first must with Bacco’s festivity. Grape is an important alimentar resource, not only to produce wine. The grains of grape were used to produce the “schiacciata” (flat bread), the first juice to make a refreshing drink. A special sauce recommended for meat and cheese was prepared cooking fresh grape must with walnuts.
First step is the grape harvest, the second is the crushing where the grapes are divided from the stalk, then they’re pressed to obtain the must that will be fermented.
The third step is the fermentation: in this process white and red are separated. For the red grape the must has to stay with the skins, to dissolve the polyphenols, the skin and the grape seeds arome. And the white needs to separate, so this wine are fruity, fresh and tannins free.
The last step is the refermentation and the ageing.
In some cultural cities it’s possible to see the old style harvest and the most famous attraction is the crushing by naked feet.
The weather is the most important factor, that influences the positive result of the harvest. Even if the last August was rainy, we can expect a positive year for the Italian wine producers. That is the opinion of CIA (Italian Farmer Confederation), moreover a volume and quality increase is attended.
So, from the next year, we can taste the producer of vintage 2018, it will be excellent!

CURIOSITY:

In the 1794, some German farmers squeezed the frozen grape, trying to save the grapes from early frost. They invented the Ice Wine, that are perfect for desserts. Ice wine represent a luxury niche in the wine business, for their production difficulty and the lack of certainty of success.
But our producers succeed! And we are doing our best to collect a large number of Ice Wine bottles to satisfy all our Excellent Delights custumers.
in the meantime, we present you the best of the past years, paired with our food boxes.

“A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world” Louis Pasteur