September is harvesting month: these are days where every single gesture follows nature’s own timetable, days where the smell of must makes us feel like children again.

This months gifts us with a special moment, one that makes our heart beat faster:

it arrives when the light blue sky is terse and the Garganega grapes are the color of gold.

That is when we walk through the rows of the vineyard, and with sharp eyes we look for the best bunches, those that are sparse and gold.

They play the leading role in this story.

An ancient story, kept hidden in between the Montebello and the Gambellara hills. It’s the story of the “picaio”, intertwined bunches of Garganega grapes hung up to dry, a technique passed down through generations.

A bunch of grape, a turn of the twine, another bunch of grape, and again another turn of the twine… and so on, until the end of the “picaio”, that gets hung in our fruit cellar.

A fascinating and hypnotic ritual. Capable hands cut, sew, and create each single bind. These gestures have been taught to us by our grandmothers, because this is a woman’s job. It needs sensitivity and tact, so as to keep every single grape intact.

This is the only way the drying process can perpetuate in the next six months.

No machines, no fans: only the strength of a memory, that in the best vintages is reflected in the “Capitel”, our Recioto di Gambellara Classico Docg.

“Amber glares melt into a golden wine. A range of smell that displays subtleties and nuances of dried apricot, iodine notes, at times even a briny taste. Smooth to the palate, well balanced by a generous note of  sapid freshness, that gives pleasure to those who taste it. Memories of  candied citrus fruits and Mediterranean scrub as the end credits roll. Barrique for a year.”

From Vinetia – Guida ai Vini del Veneto dell’Associazione Italiana Sommelier.