Do you know that feeling when, in a family, everyone eagerly awaits the date of a happy occasion to spend together? A birthday, a wedding, a celebration… as the days go by, the heart fills with anticipation and the spirit with expectation, hoping that everything will go smoothly and turn out perfectly.
That is exactly how we experience the harvest season at De Riz. Focus, attention, and, of course, emotion. And there we are, ready to give our all to this demanding work, which always brings us great satisfaction. We would like to share with you the way we experience, and see, the harvest, and that is why we are telling you about it here.
Generally, the period of interest for our winery, located in the heart of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Hills, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, runs from late August to late October, when this eagerly awaited time of year comes to an end with the harvest of Raboso, a native red grape variety widely grown in the Piave area.
There are three stages instead:
No stage is more important than another: each moment has its own characteristics and is experienced with great intensity by all of us. Of course, there are also times when we must stop and wait patiently for each process to take its course…
… but this too is part of the steps that lead us to a final product defined by quality.
Wines that, since 1983, have framed the most meaningful moments in the lives of so many people.
For us, the harvest is the moment when the present meets the future, both in the grapes preparing to become wine and in the generations who, together, watch this transformation unfold. Each with their own way of seeing things, and with their own wealth of emotions, feelings, and hopes.
For most grapes, and especially in the case of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG, harvesting is carried out strictly by hand, just as it was in the past. This preserves the integrity of the berries, reducing the risk of damaging the bunches and the resulting leakage of must.
So the shears are taken up, light in weight and with slender tips to reduce fatigue and speed up the work, while everything is then placed into the grape harvesting crates: small “treasure chests” designed to hold what will become the treasure of the months to come, our wines.
Day after day, the work goes on, and just as in life, the rain sometimes comes… persistent, relentless, reminding us that we cannot stop. Whether wearing a rain jacket or not, we must carry on, because the harvest cannot stop.
“It has to be done,” as we say in our area.
We continue with the harvest, and the grapes are processed as quickly as possible to preserve their organoleptic properties. With joy, sharing, and enthusiasm, the magic then moves to the cellar, first with fermentation and later with bottling. Can you smell it too in the air, that enveloping and unmistakable scent of must? Another season has passed, and more pages of our family and business story have been written.
A shared effort in which everyone takes home something to remember. A scent, a moment, a color gifted by these evocative places and to be cherished until next year. And now it is time to celebrate the small victories of these past weeks, including the challenges, both small and great, that we have overcome. All together.
And you, do you want to toast with us? You can do so by passing through our winery in San Pietro di Feletto, or by choosing from the fruits of our labor available on the online shop. Have you been there yet? If the answer is “no,” we advise you to remedy this as soon as possible.
Better yet, do it now: you will find several types of wine to choose from. Our production, mainly focused on Glera grapes, has in recent years been complemented by the enhancement of other grape varieties alongside those typical of our area.
One great classic we feel confident recommending is, for example, our Nonno Carlo. A Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG Brut Millesimato named after the founder of our winery, with an aromatic and delicate taste, hints of Golden apple, made from a selection of our Glera grapes from the historic Feletto vineyard, and featuring a fine, persistent perlage.
Bubbles that tell not only the story of a company and a family, but also the excellence of a land: the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Hills, where people and nature work symbiotically to carry forward the Culture of Wine.
All that’s left to do is raise your glasses and… Cin cin!
