The scents of San Martino

Wine in the streets

As you walk the narrow streets of our little town over the past few weeks there has been the aroma of grapes everywhere. Our town is dotted with several hundred cantine, or caves and many of these are used by the locals to make their own wine. The vendemmia we did a couple weeks ago was on some land of our friends and this past weekend they did the next step in turning the grapes into wine.

After the grapes have been crushed and sat for a week or so the juice is transferred into wooded kegs called botte. The grape musk is then squeezed to extract the remaining juice.  These botte will then sit for about a year before the wine is considered drinkable.

Since today is San Martino, the traditional day for new wine it only seems appropriate to talk about making wine. We are amongst the few in town who haven’t made their own wine. We know some people who will drink only wine that they have made, none of that store bought stuff. Why? Because they will tell you that you never know what someone else is putting into the bottle. Sounds reasonable.

We have visited some of the most prominent wineries in Marche and tasted some of the best wines that Italy has to offer. The wine being made in our local process is not to produce “fine” wine. The alcohol content tends to be low, there may be a mix of grapes, the taste a little fruity, but it goes well with local dishes and is part of the cycle of life for many people.