Hand-harvesting wine grapes

For small farmers, the bond with the land is something that surpasses economic value, the countryside is like a second home for the family, where generations alternate in caring for the land, performing the same gestures year after year. You have to believe in the land—harvesting by hand means diving into a sea of green to extract precious clusters of amethyst, garnet, and citrine, gleaming in the low light of the early morning sun, grapes to bring to your lips to test their sugar level and already dream of wines “that will be a marvel”. Working in the vineyard means going through the seasons, from pruning when you can already see the grapes, to the harvest, when you can already taste the wines, to be thoroughly enjoyed later, when years of aging will make the taste soft and sumptuous on the palate. And that taste will carry you back then, to the end of that summer years before, with the sun shining through grape leaves to illuminate dreams, laughter, and hopes of a family of winemakers.