A cluster of green grapes, bound for my white plastic bucket, landed gingerly in my gloved hand. I tugged on it to finish the job and extract it from the vine, but it wouldn’t budge. Pushing away mottled leaves, I moved closer with my headlamp and saw that one tender thread was still holding on. Clipping it free, I tossed it in the bucket with the others. I plodded my black Wellingtons through a row of alluvial and gravel soil as I collected heaps of thin-skinned Glera grapes; soon, I realized that the people I’d been working with had gone off to dinner. I kept at it alone among the vines, mesmerized by my search.
Vendemmia (grape harvest) coincides with the final weeks before leaves start to turn, when gathering grapes is often followed by late-afternoon eating and drinking. As I learned during my first vendemmia in Veneto — where prosecco from Glera reigns — some winemakers wait for nightfall to collect their bounty. Yes, there are challenges of working while shrouded in darkness, but that’s what headlamps are for.
A vendemmia notturna (nocturnal wine harvest) has benefits — for both the maker and the drinker. Vintner Sarah Dei Tos of La Vigna di Sarah told me all about them over a post-vendemmia dinner with mushroom risotto paired with her winery’s Grappoli di Luna (moon clusters) prosecco.
Grape harvesting in the moonlight
Nighttime harvests aren’t new nor unique to Italy. They started to crop up in the 1970s, along with mechanical harvesters, which don’t need to worry about seeing in the dark. From Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay produced in California to Spanish whites from Valencia and Rueda, these night owl wines could be paired with Monterey Jack or Manchego.
In Veneto, La Vigna di Sarah, about a 45-minute drive north of Venice, started to night harvest in 2010; its DOCG (Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin) certification for Grappoli di Luna mandates gathering the grapes when the sun is down. It’s not just a quality control measure, but also a sustainable choice: because night-harvested grapes are already at an ideal temperature for vinification, energy consumption can be lower overall during production than it would be if the grapes needed post-harvest refrigeration. Harvesting in mid-September — that time of year when going out to dinner in the piazza means slinging a sweater over your shoulders — also adds to optimal vendemmia conditions.
Cool grapes contribute not only to how much energy is consumed to create your flute of bubbles, but also to taste. As the Consortium for the Protection of Prosecco DOC wrote of the overall 2024 prosecco harvest in the middle two weeks of September: “...temperatures had already dropped, thus allowing the preservation of the aromatic profile and transport to the winery of grapes at suitable temperatures, so also a reduction in costs and energy consumption for cooling the product.”
For the drinker’s part, there’s an elegance to saying “I’m sipping moon clusters” instead of “I’m drinking Prosecco.” But that’s not the only reason night harvest wines might be extra appealing; many may also make for a more pleasant experience the morning after. With lower sulfites than some of their day harvest counterparts, night harvest wines may be easier for the body to metabolize.
The next time you’re looking for a wine to pair with baccalà mantecato (whipped salt cod), soft cheese or a savory risotto, why not try one that began under the glow of the moon?
Italian night harvest wines: a short starter list
Tenute Arnaces
Though you can’t visit the Tenute Arnaces in Friuli Venezia Gilulia, look for its night harvest Tenute Arnaces Prosecco DOC Frizzante at its Cantine Campagnola in Marano di Valpolicella, about 10 miles northwest of Verona.
Donnafugata
Among the best-known night harvesters is Donnafugata in Marsala, Sicily, which first started the practice in 1998. Its La Fuga Chardonnay from a vendemmia all'alba (dawn grape harvest) is among the few nocturnal whites that are easy to find and identify in wine shops and restaurants.
Editor’s note: The writer was a guest of La Vigna di Sarah. Italy Magazine writers accept hosted experiences only when they are likely to help bring our readers an interesting story. Writers do not accept compensation or gifts in exchange for positive or guaranteed coverage.
