a ceramicist plays winemaker
What is it about manual labor? More specifically, manual labor that involves repetitive actions? Nothing makes me feel more alive than when I am working with earth and lost in the vortex that is created when you enter into the flow of repetitive action. Recently I wanted to challenge myself to another form of repetitive manual labour - winemaking.
Unsatisfied with the lack of work to be done in my garden at the moment (thanks to the wild boar who ate literally everything - apart from tomatoes for some unknown reason? Maybe they were feeling charitable?) I felt eager to get my hands dirty making beauty from the magical greenery that the earth pushes out. I work everyday with the majestic mud found beneath the surface, but I also love to engage with plants. Knowing it’s harvest season for winemakers, I reached out to my friends Matteo and Elena at Terra Vitae to see if they needed a hand and could teach me a few things in exchange. They were more than happy to have me come join in on their vendemmia and I ended up also getting to experience the vinification (vinificazione) of the grapes.
Early start
We start early in the morning, just after sunrise, in the vineyard. The late summer sun has yet to warm up the earth and we have the privilege of snipping fat bushels of grapes with a freshness that surrounds us. By the time the heat starts to take hold, we have already filled around 80 baskets full of grapes - specifically Trebbiano Toscano and Grechetto varieties. Then it’s time to load up the pickup truck and drive all the grapes up to the cantina, which is located on a hill that watches over their darling vineyard.
The pick-up holds 27 crates of grapes, so it takes 3 trips to get them all up to the cantina!
The particulars of natural winemaking
Once we got the grapes up to the cantina it was time to clean everything, very thoroughly. Matteo explained to me that because their wines are completely free of any additives, and are left to ferment entirely on their own (spontaneous fermentation) the vessels need to be very carefully cleaned before filling them with the precious grapes. Any unwelcome bacteria could cause a whole batch to go wrong, so cleanliness is extremely important. I helped Terra Vitae make two types of wine - a classic white and a macerated orange - both had a different process.
Once all of the vessels were cleaned and carefully restored to a stable pH level, we were ready to begin working the grapes. The process starts with removing the grapes from the stems, which is a process that is either done by hand or with a machine created specially for this purpose. They use both methods, depending on which wine they will make, but for the wines we made together they used the machine. Because we were making white wines, dry ice was used in the process to maintain a nice fresh temperature, which will result in a fresher flavor profile when all is said and done.
Once the grapes are removed from the stems they can either travel to the press, where the juice will be extracted for the white wine or they travel to a rather large tub (1000L) to macerate for two days with their skins on, before heading to the press to create a lovely orange. Both methods were fascinating to witness, and Matteo and Elena’s attention to detail and passion for winemaking is felt deeply in the cantina.
Their creation process was inspiring to witness. The vendemmia is quite an intense and stressful time for winemakers, it’s the first step in turning their precious grapes they have been tending to all year, and their livelihood for the year ahead depends on it. This pressure was not felt as stress or worry in Terra Vitae’s cantina - rather there was a joyful excitement in the air. A playful yet serious nature and a deep reverence for their product. They had trust in themselves and their grapes, and a curiosity for the process. When things didn’t go as planned they responded with tranquillity, and energy that can be felt when you taste their wines. There’s nothing better than spending time with artisans while they craft, especially when their level of mastery allows the whole crew to feel at ease.
REminder to keep learning
The experience I had at the vineyard was a great reminder that as long as I’m alive I will never loose the opportunity to learn something new. This summer was hot and monotonous and this experience of learning a bit about natural winemaking has already broke me out of the cycle of sameness. It’s really important for me as a self-employed artist to challenge myself to keep learning, after all there is no “boss” or organization forcing me to do so. A huge thank you to Matteo and Elena for taking me under their wing and showing me their craft, it was an enormous pleasure and has already allowed me to plant some new seeds in my creative landscape.
