Little old men in southern Italy have been making homemade wines since they could walk, unfortunately, after taste-testing the different kinds of homemade wine … you can’t walk.
And that is pretty much where I was a few weeks ago when I agreed to go on an interpreting trip to Basilicata to help some fellow Calabrians communicate with long-lost American relatives.
Nice picture, eh?
Well, see that little ole man standing on the right? Let’s just say Ernest and Julio should have outsourced to Potenza, because this signore here has acres after acres of fresh grapes, sprouting on the vine, anxious to pop and share their wine-making juices with the world.
Since I was a special guest , he gave me one of his handmade baskets and let me fill it to the brim with fresh grapes.
Oh yea … those baskets are handmade. You have to be resourceful when you make this much wine.
Apparently, he used to sell most of it, but today, it is just a labor of love for him, his wife of 62 years and his children, grandchildren and special friends.
I like most homemade wines and love when the vino novello comes out each fall. What about you? Do you like homemade wines or are you more of the older-is-better type of wine connoisseur?
Tell the truth, it tasted like rocket fuel…lol………………….
Hahahahahahahahaha. Ahem. I’ll never tell.
Wow……you have to love Italia…….
These Italians can teach us a thing or two…and as for the baskets ……(respect to that old man!)
Ps next time can i come and help taste????? đŸ™‚
Aren’t those baskets awesome? I can’t believe they are handmade. And sure – come along!
It’s nice to see that the innkeeper gets out.
Grazie, cara! It was *such* a fabulous day!
.-= Judith in Umbria´s last blog ..Mussels love Puglia et vice versa =-.
we made white wine a couple of weeks ago… come and try it!
I’m there!
It looks like you were maybe in a smaller town of the province rather than the city itself? They make some excellent wines in Basilicata. In the higher elevations they make a very light wine, only 10% alcohol, that is darker than rose but not as dark as normal rosso. Very fruity and fun to drink!
This seemed much stronger than that! ha ha I think we were up in the mountains above the city, but we also drove into the city to meet people.
We make it like the rest of the Calabrese here in our area. It’s great!
Is it super strong there, too, Joe?
It’s a blast, isn’t it!? The wine always makes the family reunion that much better đŸ™‚
I just got back from another Heritage Tour in Caserta, and in the three years of living here this client’s long-lost cousin made – by far – the best novello I ever had. MMMMmmmm!
Oooh, I hear good things about Caserta! We had guests from there last summer!
Wow…Yummy pictures. I love to see them processed into a homemade wine. I hope you could post a video on that. Thanks a lot.
Great video idea … thanks!