On 30 October, Italy's season of the Vino Novellobegins: from 00:01, the young wine may be released for sale. About a fortnight later, on 11 November, the country celebrates San Martino. The two dates are closely linked, because the rural calendar in Italy worked according to this sequence for centuries: harvest, opening of the barrels, the turning of the year on the farms. For those travelling through Toscana, the Veneto, the Trentino or the Salento , this means wine tastings, village festivals, chestnuts roasted over an open fire, and a reminder of a saint whose legend places the act of sharing at its very heart.
Vino Novello: on sale from 30 October
The legal basis is the decree of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture dated 13 August 2012, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 200 of 28 August. Allegato 7 of the regulation sets the release date for sale as 30 October of the harvest year, at 00:01. Previously, 6 November had been the cut-off date. One exception remains: for the DOC Lizzano rosso in the Salento, the disciplinary rules still stipulate 6 November.
The Novello is not simply any young red wine; it is subject to strict production requirements. At least 40 per cent of the grapes must be fermented using the so-called Macerazione carbonica, a carbonic maceration process using whole, uncrushed berries. The berries rest for seven to twenty days in a saturated CO₂ atmosphere at 28 to 30 degrees, as the Lifestyleblog explains in its annual overview. The process produces the characteristically fruity aromas of strawberry and raspberry, an intense colour, and soft tannins.
Further mandatory requirements: a total alcohol content of at least 11 per cent, no more than 10 grams of residual sugar per litre, and a minimum fermentation period of ten days. Bottling must be completed by 31 December of the harvest year. Only wines from DOPor IGP specifications may be sold as Novello; simple table wines are excluded. The vintage must appear on the label; reference to the Macerazione carbonica is often, though not always, indicated.
Teroldego, Gamay and 60 permitted grape varieties
Around 60 grape varieties are permitted for the Novello in Italy, including seven international varieties. Beaujolais Nouveau from France, by contrast, uses exclusively Gamay grapes. One frequently cited Italian example is the Teroldego from the Piana Rotaliana in the Trentino. Which grape variety ultimately ends up in the bottle depends on the disciplinary rules of the relevant DOP or IGP origin: only where the specification expressly permits the Novello may it be labelled as such.
Market development has been trending downwards for years. The daily newspaper L'Adige reported a decline in the Trentino from over two million bottles two decades ago to around 400,000 units from eight wineries. The largest producer there is Cavit in Ravina, with 280,000 units. Across Italy as a whole, production is well below the peak figures of the 2000s. The Novello has evolved from a mass-market product into a niche wine, with prices ranging from four to eleven euros per bottle depending on the producer and grape variety.
The Novello is ready to drink within a few months of bottling and is not intended for cellaring . The ideal serving temperature is 14 to 16 degrees.
San Martino: the cloak, the farmers' new year, and the saying
11 November is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours. According to tradition, Martin was a Roman soldier who, in winter, cut his cloak in two with his sword in order to give half to a freezing beggar. He later became a bishop and one of the earliest venerated saints of Western Europe. In Italy, his feast day has been regarded for centuries as the Capodanno contadino, that is, the farmers' new year: it marked the end of the agricultural year, and on this date the barrels were opened and the new wine tasted.
Hence the well-known saying A San Martino ogni mosto diventa vino, meaning that at San Martino every must becomes wine. The travel magazine Moveo contextualises the day accordingly: at San Martino, the winemaking process from the harvest is complete, and the first tastings in the villages take place.
Estate di San Martino: warmth before winter
The tradition also encompasses a meteorological phenomenonknown as the Estate di San Martino. This refers to a brief, often mild spell of weather around 11 November that favours outdoor festivities. The period rarely lasts more than a few days and usually ends with the first cold front arriving from the north. For villages that hold their celebrations on the piazze, this window of fine weather is particularly precious.
Wine Festivals in the Borghi
In many Italian villages, the festivities are concentrated into a single weekend around Martinstag. The Touring Club Italiano publishes an overview of long-established events across several regions. The Festa di San Martino also serves as a gathering point for regional producers who pour their fresh Novello.
In Vogogna in Piedmont, the Festa di San Martino traditionally serves Trippata on Saturday evening, along with chestnuts, polenta and a donkey-meat ragù known as Tapelucco on Sunday. Clusone in Lombardy celebrates the Estate di San Martino on the Piazza dell'Orologio with wine tastings, concerts and the Torta di San Martino. Also on offer are Scarpinocc de Par, a variant of Casoncelli with a lean filling, butter and cheese.
Castelvetro di Modena in Emilia-Romagna opens the doors of its wineries under the banner of the Cantine ospitali: Novello tastings, alongside balsamic vinegar, chestnuts and Vin brulé. In Varese Ligure in Liguria, the Fiera di San Martino takes place on 11 November from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. in the historic centre, with market stalls and regional produce. Anghiari in Tuscany hosts the Festa di San Martino e dei Bringoli, named after the hand-rolled Spaghettoni served with a mushroom or meat sugo. Stalls offering Salsicce, chestnuts and young red wine complete the picture.
The Salento celebrates San Martino with particular exuberance. Monteroni di Lecce, Taviano, Casarano, Tutino and Torrepaduli host street festivals between 11 and 16 November, featuring Pittule, grilled sausages, chestnuts and the local red wine drink Mieru. The feast day traditionally marks one of the most important dates of the autumn calendar in the region.
What ends up on the table
The culinary traditions associated with San Martino differ considerably between north and south. In northern Italy , roast goose, Oca arrosto, is a frequent centrepiece. The origins lie in old agricultural economy: geese were slaughtered at the end of the fattening period, and the fat could be preserved for the winter months.
The Abruzzo has its Pizza coi quattrini, a sweet speciality. In Sicily, around the feast day, the Biscotti di San Martino are baked: small sweet biscuits, often coated with icing. In Venice, the pasticcerie sell a shortcrust pastry figure in the shape of a rider on horseback, representing Saint Martin. The pastry is frequently accompanied by chestnuts and a glass of Novello.
This pairs perfectly with the second well-known saying of the season: San Martino castagne e vino, to San Martino, chestnuts and wine. Roasted chestnuts over an open fire and barrel wine from the local harvest represented the simplest form of the celebration, one that was practised across Italy for centuries and endures to this day in many villages.
