Though I tried to blend in during my week’s stay, my awe over the whole process set me apart from the Vaughans and the locals. To these people, doing these patient, labor-intensive tasks was second nature. The bleary-eyed overworked laborers at the family run frantoio where we took the olives to be pressed laughed at me as I snapped pictures of them running our olives through the old stone mills to make a paste that filled the room with a thick heavenly smell.
Rizzi, the Vaughan’s seventy-five year old neighbor who I found high up on a ladder harvesting at an admirable break-neck speed with his wife Marcella, laughed as he showed me his scratched, arthritic hands. He kept repeating “la bestemmia, la bestemmia,” ranting about the curse of this work he’s been doing ever since he could stand up, as he happily picked.
Laughing off the challenges went along with celebrating the raccoltta. At an olive festival in nearby Montissi, I wandered the torch-lit medieval alleyways, stopping at tables set up outside restaurants and shops, to sample olio nuovo from the nearby farms. A band played in the town square, sausages were grilled, and last year’s wine was uncorked.
The celebration of the raccoltta at Reniella happened with less fanfare everyday at lunch. Though it was glorious to be in the trees when the sun was shining, ultimately the sight of Elf setting up a picnic brought me down to join her and Bob in the shade. We piled our plates with pecorino cheese, thick crusty bread, tomatoes, slices of salami, peppers, and fennel, as Bob poured us tumblers of full-bodied Reniella wine.
And finally, we passed around the olio nuovo, cloudy green-gold oil which came from olives that had been in our hands just days before. As I tasted it, I got more than its peppery, grassy fresh flavor. I got the feeling that comes with joining in with the raccoltta—peace from doing work that feeds body and soul.
If You Go:
Agriturismo Reniella
53040 Montefollonico
E-mail: reniella@libero.it
Telephone and Fax: 011-39-0577-660449
Rates for Apartment (sleeps four)
2 Bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fully equipped kitchen, deck: 480-660 euro
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