November 11 is La Festa di San Martino, Saint Martin’s Day. Each province in Sicily celebrates differently. In the town of Chiaramonte Gulfi (Ragusa Province), citizens eat sweet and savory crispelle, like these made with fennel seeds, pictured, together with cooked wine. Importantly, the Feast of San Martino marks when wine makers taste the novello,…
Tag: novello
Time To Taste The Novello
Tomorrow, November 11, for the Feast of Saint Martin, vintners seek the first taste of their year’s work to gauge how the new wine (or novello) is progressing.
Saint Martin in Noto
Each province of Sicily celebrates San Martino a bit differently. In Noto, they eat both sweet and savory crispelle, such as the ones pictured, photographed by Niki Masino of GelsominoImports.com, along with cooked wine.
These Barrels Have a Nose
November 11 is La Festa di San Martino, or Saint Martin’s Day. It marks the first tasting of the new wine, also known as “novello.” September marked the grape harvest, when the grapes are picked, cleaned, and macerated (Yes, it’s true, wine makers used to stomp on them with their feet…) to make juice that…
Time to Taste the Wine
The end of September marked the grape harvest and the start of the wine-making season. Once made, the grape juice is left to age for all different lengths of time, depending on the varietal. However, November 11, or Saint Martin’s Day, marks the first tasting of the new wine, also known as “novello.” In towns…