How can a process as ancient as the harvest not become monotonous?
The harvest is not a "process" but a true ritual, that changes time after time, place after place, wine after wine!
From improvised harvests where children crush the grapes with their feet, to the more sophisticated and innovative ones carried out by scholars and companies.
But there are also those who have gone further and to "create" a wine more special than ever have used atypical ingredient: imagination!
Neptune's Wine
Pierluigi Lugano, for example, patron of the Italian winery Bisson; besides wine, Pierluigi is fascinated by the sea and the stories it carries with it, on its seabed and between its waves.
In particular, Lugano loves shipwrecks and so decided, with his daughter Marta, to store some bottles at about 60 meters depth, where the temperature is around 15 degrees and the half-light is constant.
These conditions, combined with atmospheric pressure and the help of the God Neptune, have given life to ABISSI, the submerged sparkling wine! 6,500 bottles stored in the Baia degli Inglesi, in the Portofino area, for about 18 months.
The wine that "only lacks the power of speech"
We then challenge anyone not to think of marble when talking about Massa!
From the quarries of this area, works of art have been born that "only lack the power of speech," so what would happen if we stored some good wine there?
A recurring thought of Pier Paolo Lorieri, owner of the Scutarola estate, who with the complicity of Stefano Grassi, built a cellar inside a marble quarry!
An extremely high ceiling, a hushed environment, squared walls and soft hints of pink and green on the walls, and right there, a marble barrel sculpted expressly for fermentation.
Embraced by this evocative setting, it is of course possible to participate in the tasting of the Vino di Marmo, whose emotional component plays a primary role in the sensory perception, also facilitated by tastings of lardo and local cheese.
The Caucasian Amphorae
The most "classic" of these alternative methods is vinification in amphora.
Ancient artifacts found in Georgia were the inspiration for some winemakers from Friuli Venezia Giulia. The most famous of these is certainly Josko Grayner, who produces at the Lenzuolo Bianco estate, near Gorizia.
His wine is entirely organic, fertilized using manure and without any use of chemical components or technology.
For many, this alone would be enough to label his wine as "a must-try," but Josko has made everything more magical and fascinating by using large clay amphorae brought from the Caucasus as the cradle of wine.
After passing through the amphorae, his Ribolla and the Breg are aged in oak and bottled during the waning moon.
The wine that makes your wishes come true
What happens in the south, instead?
In Contessa Entellina, since 1998, the nighttime harvest was born.
Thanks to this fascinating experiment, the Chardonnay grapes are processed simply by avoiding unwanted fermentations and saving 70% of energy in cooling before pressing.
The wine produced is called "Donnafugata" by Antonio Rallo and is harvested on August 10th, on the occasion of San Lorenzo. On the night of shooting stars, the small winery opens the gates of its vineyards to involve and share with the curious this special moment.
Who knows – perhaps making a wish with every bottle uncorked, one of them might just come true!
What do you think?
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