Vendemmia (Harvest) 2024!
The last time I got to do the wine harvest in Italy was 2011. We had just sold the family business, Maria Pia’s Trattoria, in Wellington. After what felt like a lifetime of being indoors all day and night, I craved the exact opposite. That time I went to Tuscany; this time I was lucky enough to spend two weeks at Foradori during the challenging 2024 vintage (see Harvest Reports).
Even better, I was able to help not only with the picking crew – a fabulous international gang from no less than seven countries – but also assist Myrtha in her market garden where I experienced weeding taken to a whole new level. Still better, I got help their wonderful Brazilian ‘Harvest Chef’ Maysa Rossato prepare delicious organic lunches for the entire vineyard and winery team. The learning was profound and the highlights many. Here are a few of them.
Pacifico eating grapes by the amphora!
Vineyard manager Lorenzo displaying the proper stance for picking beneath a low pergola at Montebaldo
Manzoni Bianco at Fontanasanta
Nosiola at Montebaldo
How to identify Mal d’Esca or the Esca disease, caused by a family of fungi that colonise the lymphatic vessels of leaves, blocking photosynthesis and causing the vine to die. There is no remedy; vines must be uprooted, burned and replaced.
Kitchen selfie with Chef Maysa Rossato