Shortly the 2017 wine harvest will commence in the southern hemisphere, while here in Tuscany we have recently concluded our season, with memories of the 2016 harvest still fresh in our minds.
The global wine harvest is nearly continuous, depending on the climate range. It begins with the hottest areas of Australia and South Africa, reaching to Brazil, Argentina and New Zealand. Did you ever participate in such an event as a wine harvest? Do you know which distinguishes a historically producing wine country with those of the new world?
Originally, in those countries with a history of winemaking, it was a big party for the entire family. Farmers would help each other and the harvest became a major event shared by everyone, young and old.
The women would prepare homemade pasta, traditional sauces and meats, the children would help stamp the grapes with their feet and the men worked to fill the carts with fresh and fragrant bunches of grapes.
When it was time to harvest, there was great excitement and all would mobilize for the big event. The work of an entire season came down to the last hurdle.
Today the harvest is carried out in a more professional manner, but it still can be a beautiful experience, especially in smaller and family wineries. However in order to obtain it, you need to know how to combine business with pleasure!
5 Rules for beginner grape pickers:
- Wear rubber boots and a large straw hat
- Have good, professional scissors
- Remember to drink lots of water, and also a bit of wine
- Cut and place the bunch in the basket, repeat until it is full or until the point of exhaustion!
- Work up a big appetite. Eating in the vineyard after so much work is a luxury that only a few have!
And La Chimera, how do we go about the harvest?
Exactly how our grandparents did! We all get together, with our straw hats, boots and scissors and we start.
The satisfaction to pick perfect bunches, thanks to the most favorable climate in Maremma and our care, along with the lunches and the dinners prepared as they were generations ago, makes our wine harvest unique. For us, every year is a trip to the past, and this reminds us wine was made here forever, and by now it is in our DNA!
Obviously tagliatelle with wild boar, along with all the traditional delicacies that your find on the table during the harvest, are always in the company of our Merlot, Cabernet and Sangiovese wines from previous years, making our goals to reach even clearer.
The last day of the harvest we open our Riserve and Caletra — to celebrate!
As we wish a great 2017 harvest to our colleagues in the southern hemisphere, we’ll enjoy our 2016 wines that are starting to take shape, respecting our high expectations for an exceptional year!
