\u201cSan Martino and the new wine\u201d because November 11th is the feast that everyone are waiting in Italy but above all in Salento.
\nThe day when the sacred and the profane unite beautifully, in solidarity, conviviality and charity: the feast of Saint Martin\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
San Martino was a Roman soldier who one day, while riding a horse near Amiens, met a poor beggar.
\nIn view of his condition, he cut his cloak in two and delivered a part of it to him. At night Martin dreamed of Jesus Christ who made him the part of the mantle he had given him: in the morning Martin awakened and his mantle was intact. Since then Martino converted to Christianity, becoming a monk with the deepest faith so much so that the citizens of Tours acclaimed him as bishop.<\/p>\n
Salento has always been a land of welcome, tradition and warmth, not only meteorological but also human, and the feast of St. Martin is the occasion that families and friends seize to gather around a table set with every delicacy such as pittule, mandarins \u201cclementine\u201d, roasted meat and chestnuts, to find again those feelings of generosity and participation that have characterized the life of St. Martin of Tours.<\/p>\n
The Salento pays homage to Saint Martin with a series of folklore events. In Salento it is said:\u201dte Santu Martinu ogni mustu diventa vinu\u201d that is,\u201dat San Martino every must becomes wine\u201d.
\nCertainly\u00a0Lecce<\/a>, the pearl of Baroque architecture, with the astonishing architecture of the ancient buildings in\u00a0Lecce<\/a>\u00a0stone and the narrow streets that hide splendid churches, offers a splendid and convivial setting to remember the message of Saint Martin.
\nThen there is \u201cthe city of flowers\u201d, Taviano, which has a direct relationship to say the least with the saint: suffice it to think that in the past the citizens, in order to propitiate the rain, put a very salty sardine between the lips of the statue of the saint for him to understand the drought. Today there is a heartfelt procession through the streets of the city.
\nThe same happens in the ancient\u00a0Maglie<\/a>, among markets, fireworks and the characteristic \u201cSt. Martin\u2019s Tales\u201d in honor of St. Martin represented by the precious statue of St. Martin begging on horseback.
\nThe Salento hamlet of Monteroni celebrates St. Martin showing, among the stands of craftsmen, the vast and rich wine and food heritage of Salento: here is held in fact the competition \u201cIl gioco diVino\u201d where compete and are awarded the best new wines craft.<\/p>\n<\/i>Saint Martin and the new wine<\/h2>\n
\nThe feast of San Martino coincides in fact with the day when the agrarian and wine year commonly ends, when the barrels are opened to taste the new wine, whose main characteristic is the method of winemaking that starts not from grapes already pressed. According to the so-called \u201ccarbonic maceration\u201d method, the grapes are put for a couple of weeks in a steel container together with carbon dioxide, at a temperature of around 30\u00b0. In this way, a self-fermentation is activated which transforms the sugars into alcohol, thus producing the \u201cglycerol\u201d which gives that characteristic taste and aroma, limiting the quantity of tannins. Crushing and \u201cclassic\u201d fermentation only later.
\nWhat makes this wine very delicious is its reddish-purple colour, its intense, extremely fruity and floral aroma and its round, balanced taste due to glycerol.<\/p>\n<\/i>Source<\/h3>\n