With the 23rd of September, Summer 2011 was officially over, but here in Tuscany we are experiencing an unusually warm and dry autumn... making for perfect conditions to harvest the wine grapes, or as the Italians call it: Vendemmia.

John, Renzo and I returned to Tuscany after a long working summer in California, and were able to take some pleasure in an additional summer here.  We resumed production on John’s latest independent - and wine themed - movie “Terroir”.  Naturally such a film requires footage of the wine harvest, so off to San Gimignano, where the grape harvest was well underway....

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“Luce d’Oro, San Gimignano”

24”x40”

Gallery McCollum

Our actor friend Fabio Marini, who is starring in “Terroir”, invited us to partake in his family’s annual vendemmia... where Fabio’s Father Mario supervised a great team of helpers picking mostly Sangiovese grapes for chianti, and white grapes for his delicious and sweet Vinsanto.

Vendemmia of this property took two days...people working in the vines in an ancient tradition, everything picked by hand...

ITheA...sunny days with the sounds of laughter and old Tuscan dialect spoken in the breeze....

    

After grapes are picked, they are brought to the cantina to be processed... simply, and very “old school” as we witnessed here...

Vendemmia would not be complete without a tasty working lunch provided by Fabio’s mother, Giovanna...

Renzo awaits... however he was NOT on the menu....

“Vigne Vecchia...the Old Vine”

18”x30”

Available at  District Gallery

Later that week it was back to San Gimignano to film the harvest at Mattia Barzaghi’s lovely estate Il Caggio where vendemmia was in full swing. I must note: Il Caggio has lovely apartments for rent if you’re looking for an agriturismo-style Tuscan holiday... guests are encouraged to participate in the wine harvest.

Mattia Barzaghi’s cantina just recently won the “Best Emerging Cantina in Italy” award by Gambero Rosso magazine, and his Vernaccia won the coveted 2011 “Tre Bicchiere” award.

Our friend and wine expert, Jo Cooke, who is consulting on John’s movie, came from Maremma and joined us for filming and for tasting. And now Mattia’s wine is featured in the Jo Cooke Wine Selection.

Mattia’s Sangiovese grapes are all picked and sorted by hand.

the The after-five-o’clock sun beckons a pausa... work done for the day, and a fresh apertivo of Mattia’s Zeta Vernaccia the reward for a hard day’s work!

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Renzo more interested in Mattia’s horses....

Molino is radiant this September, the vines laden with fruit. Tiberio, our neighbor, completed harvest last week but not before we could both film, photograph and paint some details of his vines...

..setting the stage for my next still life paintings... and and evening apertivo on our loggia.

October has arrived, and with these last days of warmth time to reflect on the year that’s gone by.

. “Sangiovese e Parmigiano”

18”X20”

Available at the Fairmont Gallery”