For eleven months of the year, we embrace a slower pace here. Then harvest arrives, and the winery shifts gears: the press is running, the tanks are fermenting, and everyone is hard at work from early in the morning. For three weeks, wine ceases to be a product and becomes, once again, a labor of love—a craft of hands, scents, and decisions made on the spot.
These are also the only weeks when we can show you something that simply doesn’t exist the rest of the year: the same grape at three different stages of its life, all in the same afternoon. It’s the heart of our “Inside the Harvest” experience, and in this article, we’ll tell you what really happens.
The grape harvest is the gathering of the grapes. It is the moment when an entire year of work—pruning, frosts that were avoided, rains that came or didn’t come—all comes down to a decision that lasts just a few days: now is the time to harvest.
From that moment on, the winery never stops. The grapes arrive and are pressed; the must begins to ferment, filling the air with that sweet scent reminiscent of September. Anyone looking for a grape harvest experience in Friuli at this time of year will find an opportunity that lasts only a few weeks: stepping into a winery while it’s in full swing.
It’s the difference between visiting an empty theater and watching a rehearsal, and it’s also whywine tourism in Friuli-Venezia Giulia during harvest season is an experience unlike any other.
It all starts in the vineyard. We’ll put a freshly picked bunch of grapes in your hand and ask you to chew it whole— skins and seeds included. In thirty seconds, you’ll understand how one of the most important decisions of the year is made.
Then you go inside. You’ll see the press in action and taste the must: sweet, cloudy, still alive, with fermentation underway. It’s the most surprising taste of all, because it’s nothing like grape juice or wine—it’s changing as you drink it.
Finally, you take a seat. The wine poured into your glass comes from that very same vineyard, harvested a few vintages ago. At that point, the journey from the soil to the glass is no longer just a concept from a brochure: you’ve experienced it yourself, in just a few hours. The experience concludes with an optional pairing with local specialties.
It’s not a marketing decision; it’s a matter of the agricultural calendar. The grapes ripen on their own schedule—usually between late August and September—and from that point on, the window of opportunity is measured in days. It’s worth keeping this in mind when planning your trip: of all the things you can do around here, this is the only one you can’t put off until next month.
There's also a more practical reason: during those weeks, we're actually working, so there are few dates available and the groups are small— up to a maximum of sixteen people.
If you're reading this article while the collection is still ongoing, the right time is today, not next weekend.
A Brief Look at the Grape Harvest
You can book online on the experience page, or via WhatsApp one day in advance. Children and pets are welcome, there’s plenty of parking on the property, and the only recommendation is to wear comfortable shoes: we’re in the countryside.
It’s one of the few wine tourism experiences in Friuli-Venezia Giulia that can only be enjoyed during the grape harvest. Then the press stops, the vats settle down, and we return to our usual slow pace. If you’re reading this after the harvest is over, there’s still a convenient window of opportunity: from October 1 through November 15 , the tasting room is open Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., even without a reservation.
Check the available dates for "Inside the Grape Harvest," or choose another one of our experiences if you're visiting at a different time of year.
