Harvest in Tenuta Torciano winery

If you visit Tuscany at the beginning of the harvest season, you can try the ancient tradition of trampling grapes.

The “Vendemmia” (Italian for the grape harvest) is one of the most fascinating experiences you can have in Tuscany during the month of September. It's a wonderful way to learn about local food and wine traditions, and about local culture too. Those who have tried it say the atmosphere of a working winery is something absolutely unique. At Tenuta Torciano you can take part in a traditional harvest in a fascinating winery and taste some excellent local wines served at lunch. If you visit Tuscany at the beginning of the harvest season, you can also try the ancient tradition of trampling grapes: an old harvest habit once used to help ferment the grape juice, no longer needed today thanks to modern machinery.

Before the harvest begins

What tools you need

Nothing is sadder for a farmer than watching his grapes ruin on the vine. Although some wines need aged grapes to produce the prized vin santo or other liqueur wines, most of the harvest is destined for an everyday wine, or one to share with friends. Actual harvesting requires very few tools: a sharp pair of garden shears or a small knife with a hooked tip, a small or medium-sized wicker basket, some larger bins and, of course, large stainless steel vats.

Contrary to popular belief, harvested grapes are no longer trampled — the image is folkloristic, but the truth is it's not very hygienic. Still, the great lunch at the end of the harvest remains a very popular event. After a morning of harvesting, pressing, pouring and processing, there is always an invitation to sit at a table overflowing with the colors and flavors of the season.

How it works

A morning among the vines and in the cellar

Our harvest experience takes place in the morning and lasts about an hour. You'll meet our local guide and enjoy an introduction to the world of vineyards before you begin: information about the plants and vine cultivation, and how the season's weather conditions affect the fruit. Then you'll take the scissors and the crates and start collecting grapes together with your guide and other wine producers.

After collecting some bunches, you'll follow your guide and the tractor towards the operational areas of the cellar, where you'll see all the machinery involved and understand the winemaking process in detail. From the destemming to the fermentation barrels, you'll learn in detail how grape juice turns into wine. Finally, you'll rest in the property's tasting room, tasting some excellent wines produced by the cellar, served together with a complete lunch.

A family tradition

The harvest as a feast

The real harvest experience starts here at Tenuta Torciano. It's like going back to the memories of our childhood. We have always lived the harvest as a feast, where our generations gathered to celebrate this great event — and where everyone worked together. Our grandparents, our parents and we children, everyone had a task: from picking the bunches to carrying the grapes from the vineyards to the cellar, where the processing began. It was like a dance. A delicious lunch was always the highlight of the day, with a lovely "schiacciata" with grapes for dessert.