Harvest in Italy

This article captures a moment in time, fall grape harvest 2016, through the comments from Italian grape-growers and wine-makers.

Italy has produced wine since antiquity. Each year the vineyard follows a similar, steady pattern of planting, pruning, harvesting. Fall brings the harvest of grapes and with it new promise for the just-in vintage.

I’ve asked a few familiar Italian wine estates to provide an update on their harvest. Here we find out what grapes are in, what is still on the vine, the outlook for the vintage and more. Enjoy this personal look at Harvest in Italy:

Cantina dei Colli Ripani

Cantina dei Colli Ripani is a cooperative in Le Marche. It was founded in 1969 by a small group of farmers and has grown substantially in recent years to over 300 growers.

Monica from Cantina dei Colli Ripani says:

The harvest is going very well in the Marche this year- the sun is shining (last year we had late rains), the grapes are maturing excellently and the vines are healthy. This vintage is looking great! Look forward to the 2016 Pecorino, Offida Rosso and Rosso Piceno wines.

Cantina del Vesuvio

Cantina del Vesuvio is located on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, in Vesuvius National Park. They are Certified Organic and cultivate Piedirosso, Caprettone, and Aglianico varietals. Their volcanic-soil vineyards are potassium rich, planted in 1996 at an average altitude of 220-265 meters above sea level. I asked for a harvest update and received the good news that:

We are at the  moment harvesting the local white grape Caprettone. All is
proceeding well and today the cool air is promising a great harvest for the
red grapes Aglianico and Piedirosso which will begin next week. ~ Cantina del Vesuvio

The Harvest in Umbria

Giselle from Gusto Wine Tours based their wine tour business in Umbria when she Mark fell in love the the Sagrantino di Montefalco grape. They now offer day tours that introduce visitors to the beauty of Umbria, the generosity of their people and the indulgent food and wine of the region. They offer a full Umbrian lunch and three winery visits on each tour. Giselle fills us in on the Sagrantino harvest in Umbria:

September and October are the harvest months for the grapes with Sagrantino being one of the last to be harvested. The Sagrantino grapes are hand-picked, usually in mid October. The vine leaves start turning a vibrant and bright red which makes for amazing vistas! For the Passito: Some wine-makers leave the Sagrantino grapes to dry out on the vines, then pick them and lay them out on layers of racks in a well aired room for two to three months until they have lost about 70% of their juice. Yet some harvest them earlier to put on the racks. It seems that each winery makes their passito in a slightly different way! The scenes around Umbria at the moment are of big groups of helpers picking the grapes to take to be pressed.

Italian Food Wine Travel {#ItalianFWT}

This Saturday our Italian Food Wine and Travel group presents Fall in Italy. Each writer will offer a blog piece and we will all gather, like a family at the harvest table, on twitter under the hashtag #ItalianFWT. Could there be a more perfect day: October 1, 2016. The first of October, the ushering month. Join us at 10:00 am central on twitter. We will be there, wearing scarves and watching leaves blow past the window while we type and chat in the coziness of home:

Mike from Undiscovered Italy writes about the Montefalco Vendemmia Festival

Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog prepares Caprese Stuffed Roasted Eggplant and 2013 Josetta Saffirio Barbera d’Alba #ItalianFWT

Gwendolyn from Wine Predator presents Easy Fall Fun Flavorful Food with Italian Wines from a Castle

Jeff from FoodWineClick gives us his Top 5 Reasons to Visit Piemonte in the Fall

Michelle from Rockin Red Blog is Celebrating Italian Harvest with #ItalianFWT

Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla makes Truffles, a Whole Fish, & Barolo

Jennifer from VinoTravels is Welcoming Autumn with the Campanian Wines of Mastroberadino

Here at L’occasion we are immersed into the Harvest in Italy…

SEE YOU ON TWITTER ON OCTOBER 1 AT 10:00AM CENTRAL. ALL ARE WELCOME to enjoy #ITALIANFWT!

Thank you to each of the estates and organizations that provided an update and photographs. Photos are credited to each estate/organization indicated in the section in which it is included.