Photo: © suteracher - Fotolia.com
The winemakers invite now!
Splendidly decorated carriages wander through the streets of Meran, accompanied by women and men in colorful costume. Bands perform and groups in historical costumes perform exuberantly old dances: on the third weekend in October, the second largest city in South Tyrol is again under the spell of the grape festival.
Then, in Northern Italy, enjoyment in general and wine in particular is celebrated. The winemakers have been invited to a grape festival here since 1886 - and for good reason: in South Tyrol, delicious wine has been produced for millennia. Knowing how good the vintage is will be experienced by Törggelen (from Latin: torquere = pressing, pressing grapes). At this traditional feast the young wine comes for the first time on the table. In addition there are roasted chestnuts, dumplings, sour meat and sweet donuts.
This is exactly the strengthening that hikers can use after a long tour through the Eisacktal or the Vinschgau. Then you return to a wine tavern for a sociable round in a tavern. Especially impressive in autumn is a hike on the Keschtnweg from Bressanone to Bolzano. It leads through golden and red discolored chestnut groves along the slopes of the Eisacktal.
Everywhere wine, fruit, cheese, chestnuts, jam and noble fires are offered. So the enjoyment does not stop. Not even if you keep pausing to admire nature in South Tyrol, which produces all these delicacies. And in many a vineyard hikers can still find a few sweet grapes in October ...
