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exploring taste—santa margherita gruppo vinicolo

“Our technological and scientific knowledge of the area allows us to cultivate

an organic product better than we did in the past, but everything starts from
the respect for the land and the desire to produce sustainably.”

producer will obtain certification that verifies its organic au- take a peek and taste. The beauty of harvest is really evi-
thenticity for its products produced from grapes harvested in dent at this stage. What was once done using large wood-
2017, the final stage of a process that started long ago. "Organ- en buckets, barefoot, today is mechanized (rightly so) and
ic farming is not a fad, at least not for us", continues Daldin. checked by super attentive staff: grapes are unloaded, stalks
“It’s a real philosophy. First we assess the earth and subse- are removed (they will be recycled, another step in mak-
quently the plant, as one is a direct consequence of the other. ing production sustainable), and grains are selected from
Our technological and scientific knowledge of the area allows a machine that assesses the color, size and thickness of the
us to cultivate an organic product better than we did in the peel. Peels and grapes will ferment for just over a week in
past, but everything starts with respect for the land and the the same tank, to finally then be divided in the drawing off
desire to produce sustainably. This is why an investment in stage (called racking).
machinery and technology should be accompanied by an in- Outside, the scenario is very familiar – peering through the
vestment in high-level professionals and trained personnel". windows of the cellar, you can see there are some leftovers on
Over time, this personnel has replaced college students who a table. It is an 'improvised canteen' for those who work here.
were a natural choice to collect the harvest. In Campolungo, Bottles of red wine stand out on a waxed floral tablecloth.
part of the 'human capital' of Lamole di Lamole pick grapes Touché. The sight is topped off by the smell of sweet grape juice
methodically. Marco from Figline Val d’Arno – a 50 year-old intoxicating the pungent October air and the rumbling sound
man sporting a hat for sun protection and a shirt with thin of tractors in the background. Picking grapes in Campolungo
stripes – is an expert. "I’ve been involved in wine harvesting does not stop until five in the afternoon. "The process is lived
since I was 10 years old, that means I've been doing it for 45 with feelings of participation and enthusiasm: the transforma-
years, and I think this happens to be a perfect year", he says tion of grapes into wine recalls the cycle of nature itself". Once
while he works. After the harvest, grapes are loaded onto trac- this early catharsis occurs, wine will need time to 'rest' and to
tor crates, which can contain up to two and a half tons each. mature slowly. It will initially be stored in large steel tanks,
They make a short trip before reaching the cellar, where they whose temperature is meticulously kept under control by staff,
will be transformed into wine: all the vineyards are close to and then transferred into wooden barrels for the crucial stage
the edifices, in a matter of minutes by car. of refinement – this is what the French call élévage, a term that
The gray gate slowly opens and grapes make their entrance connotates the idea of wine elevating towards higher and more
under the amused eyes of one American family ready to ambitious goals.

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