Italy faces a historically good harvest in 2022 for both grapes and olives, with great optimism for quality. The total amount of grapes produced in Tuscany is 5-10% more than previous years.
Luckily the harvest at Castellare di Tonda was a good one, and the picture above is one of the many tractor loads of Sangiovese grapes harvested from the vineyards under the stables.
Right now the staff are still trying to harvest the last of the estates olives (no small job on a 280 hectare property!).
In most Italian regions the olives are harvested in the months of November, December and January. But in Tuscany the harvest begins earlier -this year it began at the end of September.
The early harvest accounts for the prized peppery taste of Tuscan olive oil. The harvest of this unique and important oil is always cause for celebration with traditional fett’unta: a simple piece of grilled bread that is rubbed with garlic, drizzled with fresh oil, and sprinkled with salt.
