Buona Festa di San Martino!
November 11 is La Festa di San Martino, or Saint Martin’s Day. It marks the first tasting of the new wine, known as “novello.” September marked the grape harvest, when the grapes are picked, cleaned, and macerated to make juice (must or “mosto”) that was then left to ferment. Traditionally this week, depending on the varietal, wine makers will taste their newest production in order to get a sense of how the wine tastes and smells. These biscuits shown are pervasive in bread bakeries during these days. They are meant to be eaten (and dipped) in the novello while trying the wines – – because you don’t drink without eating!
Also, importantly, the Feast of Saint Martin marks when the wheat farmers should have completed the planting of the durum wheat grain for next season’s harvest. It’s been rainy in Sicily (that’s good!), so the seeds that have been placed in the earth the past weeks are getting the water they need to grow. Let’s hope for more! The landscape is already turning green once again.
