An autumn to be savoured

AUTUMN 2019 - There’s something about autumn that excites the taste buds and whets the appetite. The air is cooler and filled with the scent of ripe apples and the grape harvest and it’s simply a pleasure to sit down with some friends and share a glass of Novello wine as you carefully peel a roasted chestnut, taking care not to scald your fingers. Discover the culinary kaleidoscope of harvest festivals and country fairs that, here in Trentino, revolve around polenta, Teroldego and Marzemino wine and, of course, apples.

September also marks the beginning of the desmontegade, an ancient ritual where cows, calves and goats are driven back to the valleys by their herders after having spent the entire summer in the high mountain pastures. This boisterous parade is today accompanied by the clanging of cowbells, the flowers and bright ribbons adorning the animals themselves and the aroma of the mountain cheese the cowherds carry with them.

Then of course there are the apple and grape harvests and the hunt for mushrooms in the woods: these traditions renew the link between the people and the land and make one feel like a small part of something much greater, something wrought from passion, taste and attention to the little things. Savour the pleasure of tradition in Trentino.

If you wish to try something new and soak up the rhythm of the countryside and get to know the locals, this year there’s the “Trentino in un Barattolo” initiative. Ten autumn weekends in 16 farmhouses across Trentino where you’ll learn the secrets of making preserves. Join the locals in the field, gather the necessary fruits and vegetables, help prepare the flavoured salts and vegetable stock, make some jams and preserves from apples, forest fruits and even Trentino sauerkraut, to mention a few. Then it’s back to the kitchen to put these products to good use!

That’s a lot of taste for one season!