Harvest-your-own grapes in August

Muscat bleu and Muscat blanc. Organically grown fruit from Castel Cerreto ag-coop.

Have you ever tasted perfectly ripened grapes plucked fresh from the vine? Or participated in the vendemmia (wine grape harvest)? A good spring soak followed by an endless parade of hot summer days is like super mojo for grapes, and the outlook for winegrowers and vineyards this year is a golden one. As a home gardener with a single uva fragola (concord grape), I’m more than happy for the few clusters not claimed by bugs and hail, but to round out the whole harvesting experience, MotH and I went to our favorite organic farm near Treviglio.

Eat all you want. 100% organic and rightly proud about it, we were encouraged to taste while we picked. One of the varieties grown is Muscat bleu which is used both as a wine grape and table grape. The loose clusters have round, smallish fruit which contain seeds. Vines are staked and trained in a pergola-style, and protected from pests by lightweight netting which covers the length of the row.

The white grapes weren’t quite ready at the time we were there but MotH did manage to score a couple of bunches to add to our haul. Other than the blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries that we harvested on a previous visit, Castel Cerreto Agricola also grows melons, asparagus, strawberries and kiwiberries – all organic!