Some are on vacation and some are... harvesting: the first grapes are in the cellar

While Italy takes a break, offices and industries stop, and millions of families take a week or two of vacation, pouring into the sea, the mountains or the many villages of Italy, there are already those who, under the August sun, have begun harvesting. Uniting, at least symbolically, two territories distant both geographically and oenologically, the first bunches of grapes have arrived in the cellars of Franciacorta and Sicily, two of the most fascinating territories of Italian wine: yesterday morning, at the crack of dawn, the harvest began on the Island of Mozia, in the Tenuta Whitaker, owned by one of the most important realities of Sicilian wine, Tasca d’Almerita. It is an intense and logistically tiring moment, because the grapes, hand-picked during the early hours of the day, are then quickly transferred to the mainland in small flat-bottomed boats. Once they have crossed the Stagnone of Marsala and reached the coast, a refrigerated truck headed to the Tenuta Regaleali for winemaking awaits them. It is in this setting, full of charm and history, that Grillo di Mozia is born, a wine capable of telling the story of the island's character, from the sea, the sapling vines, and the archaeological excavations that tell the story of the Phoenicians in Sicily.

In Franciacorta, on the other hand, it is Pinot Noir that is the first variety harvested at Guido Berlucchi, the winery where the Lombard Metodo Classico was born, which opens the dances of a vintage that promises to be very positive, thanks to daily care and attention in the vineyard and in the cellar, along with study and continuous research. The first clusters come from the Brolo vineyard, and will give rise to the Riserva Palazzo Lana Extrême, which can only be tasted in 12 years. “For several years now, due to climate change, the challenge in the vineyard is constant: it requires continuous research, new means and great commitment from the agricultural department team. Our experience is also made available to all partner winegrowers with the Berlucchi Sustainable Viticulture Protocol, which is the result of more than 20 years of research and which, together with other projects such as Biopass, Life Vitisom and F.A.Re.Su.BIO, is aimed at countering the loss of soil biodiversity and improving the quality of our products. But we would not have quality in the bottle without respect for the environment, whose ecosystem we protect with certified Organic viticulture on all our vineyards since 2016”, comments Arturo Ziliani, CEO and director winemaker at Guido Berlucchi.