"Once upon a tine, the primary source of income for hill farming were the vendumia, the amsum and the bucin: grape harvest, grain harvest and calf rearing.
Only when you were able to sell our wine, grain or veal could you finally bring some money home. Most of the remaining products from farm work were consumed by the family. Grape harvest was the highlight of the season; the harvest of the last major crop would finish approximately one month later, on St Martin's Day. At last, the fruits of a whole year of work were brought home, and a cheerful mood spread through the hills and villages
Preparation had begun at least two week earlier. There were the arbi, the vats to be soaked and then loaded on the wagons, the bunsi, the barrels to be washed for making the buìia, the brenti, the sebri and the sigilin. The wine legs, the tubs and the buckets were to be properly cleaned. Bagnà i'arbi was a very special procedure. The vats were once exclusively made of wood. While left unused for a whole year, the planks became dry and needed to be soaked to expand and become waterproof again in order to retain the must; preventing la barnà, that is, to lose it along the way .(....) Once, everyone used to take part in the rite of wine harvest: some people by working among the rows of vines, other at home, and other in the cellar.
The harvest involved the whole family. Children , in order to help they parents, wee even allowed to miss a few of the first days of school. Their teachers were also involved in the harvest, and a few extra days of leave were good for everyone.
The few who did not own a vineyard helped theyr neighbors, who in turn helped those who had not yet finished they own work. Popolar folk songs echoed through the hills and villages. Laughter, greetings, the sound of children at play, cries of encouragement for the oxen to endure the season's extra work were heard everywhere through the day" (365 Monferrato).
The Monsterrato-Strade Bianche Monferrato, 4-5-11 and 12 September 2021, in the magical days of the harvest
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