September harvest month
September arrived quietly, the days are shorter and a light breeze brings refreshment after the summer heat of August, heralding autumn.
In the vineyards the grapes are ready for harvesting and on the roads that cross the center of Gambassi it is very common to meet tractors moving towards the surrounding countryside.
September is the harvest month and the countryside is active. Like every year, it gathers many people who will share this authentic experience full of tradition, which brings back to the simple things of grandparents, to childhood memories and the intoxicating scent of must. It is not just a seasonal job, day after day among the rows of vines, it becomes a moment of great sociability. Have you ever tried? Do you know what a typical day is like and how it works?
The typical day
The morning starts early around 7.30 and everyone collects a basket and a pair of scissors. Participants must wear suitable gloves and shoes and are ready to start. Very important it is
clothing that must be comfortable and sporty enough. These are the essential tools of the grape harvester: basket, gloves and scissors. The harvest can begin !!
Every morning the tractor positions itself between two rows, the pickers in the adjacent row begin to cut the bunches and then place them in the baskets. When they are full they are emptied into the grape vat and when this is also full the tractor moves towards the cellar, where it will pour the harvest into the destemmer, the machinery that separates the grapes from the stalks. Apart from lunch break, the harvest is interrupted in the late afternoon, when, after eight hours among the sunny rows, we return home. If it starts to rain it is decided whether to continue or stop and if it rains during the night the following morning it will not harvest, because harvesting the wet grapes can compromise the quality of the must.
The manual harvest, compared to the mechanical one, is a very delicate process but allows you to choose and cut perfectly ripe bunches. Using not too capacious containers avoids crushing of the grapes and transporting them quickly to the rooms where the vinification will be carried out does not undergo unwanted maceration or fermentation.
Fatigue, but not only …
In addition to a lot of effort, an incredible team game is created. Often, between rows and baskets, several generations meet and during working hours, with a few words and some encouragement, it is possible to lighten the perception of heat and tiredness. At the end of the harvest it is traditional to organize a collective lunch to celebrate and greet each other. Everyone brings something and prepares a picnic or a barbecue all together, sipping a good glass of wine.
For those who, like us, cannot give up good wine, we recommend booking a tasting in the Gambassi farms.
Agricola Tamburini
+39 0571 680235
Via Catignano 106 – Loc. “Il Castelluccio”, 50050 Gambassi Terme (FI)
Agricola Ludus
+39 351 638 9278
Via Volterrana, 24 – Loc. “Borgoforte” – 50050 Gambassi Terme (FI)
Agriturismo Pompone e Pola
+39 329 7419113
Loc. Pompone, 50050 Gambassi Terme FI
Azienda Agricola Corbucci
+39 339 6125300
Via S. Andrea a Gavignalla 25/A, 50050 Gambassi Terme (FI)
Azienda Agricola Pietralta
+39 0571 1614755
Via Camporbiano 45, 50050 Gambassi Terme (FI)
Azienda Agricola Santa Lucia
+39 0571638900
Via Varna 119, – 50050 Gambassi Terme (FI)
Tenuta Mercatili
+39 331 941 7748
Sant’Andrea Gavignalla, 15/d 50050 Gambassi Terme
Villa Pillo
0571 680212
Via Volterrana 24, 50050 Gambassi Terme (FI)
