The 99th harvest
“This year will be the 99th harvest for our family.
After my harvests in France and Tuscany during my studies, I experienced my 25 harvests in this company.
I remember with emotion when I harvested grapes with my father and grandfather. I inherited from them the deep knowledge of our authocthonous and local grapes: Garganega, Tai Rosso and Durella. I’ve learnt from them the respect and the care of the vineyards, so that today, when I work in the vineyard, I like to imagine that in my hands there are theirs too.
The memories tied to the harvest are really a lot: the harvest of Garganega in the snow in early November; the old track-laying tractor with the trailer so full of grapes that it struggled to climb the slopes of the hills of Selva; my grandfather and father with the hayfork at night under the porch while loading the old press.
My mother and grandmother made huge pots of pasta for lunch to all of ours harvesters: and the table filled of that beautiful conviviality typical of people working together.
So much has change since then. Today the organization and the technology have relieved us of some labours and the winemaking improvements have brought new and important knowledge. Compared to 50/60/70 years ago, the awareness has grown and the wine quality as well.
For many peolpe the poetry no longer exists, but for us, thanks to the fact of being a family producing wine and having a long history behind us, we still keep alive certain feelings.
We live the harvest like something part of our home tradition and the recall of that old athmosphere and of those traditions is everywhere around us. For instance our Garganega comes from our oldest vineyards: diving the nose in the glass is enough to understand it. We harvest it in October as we made in the past and as we were used to do, we use the big wooden barrels and the concrete tanks.
Tractors go on, scrissors cut, our grapes come to the winery. The 99th harvest has started: we are “picking up the wine” of tomorrow.
And if I have to make a wish, here it is: may you taste in our glasses all this nature, all this tradition. May you feel the poetry of people in the rows. May you taste taste the good wine made with love.”
Nicola Dal Maso
Harvest of Durella grapes in the Lessini Mountains