One of the most exciting times in Italy falls between mid-September and early October. This is the time of the vendemmia, or harvest, when the grapes are fully ripened and ready to begin the metamorphosis from fruit to wine. This is also the most labor-intensive period in the winemaking process as there is sometimes only a matter of days that separates ripe grapes from spoiled ones. On small farms such as Fattoria Lavacchio, time is of the essence and every person available is in the vineyard harvesting or preparing the cantina where the grapes will be crushed and fermented. Although the work is non-stop, this is a happy time of year.

Although 2013 has been a very hot and difficult year for most winemakers in Italy, small farms like Fattoria Lavacchio have made it through without impacting the quality of their wine. Because of their size, they have the ability to hand pick each bunch of grapes thereby ensuring that only the best fruit goes into their bottles. Additionally, they are able to remove whole bunches of grapes from the vines throughout the year to increase the quality of the fruit that remain and ripen. This is an exceptionally labor-intensive and time consuming practice for the winemakers. However, although they are reducing their output by sometimes two-thirds by discarding grapes, this technique allows them to control the quality and consistency of their wine.

In the case of the Puro Chianti that contains no added sulfites, tannins, or yeast, the wine needs to be treated delicately. Although sulfites act as a preservative in wine and is commonly added, sulfites also occur naturally in the fermentation process. Because Puro contains only the natural sulfites, the wine can become easily oxidized if exposed to the outside air, therefore spoiling the wine. To avoid this, the Sangiovese grapes that make up the Puro are never exposed to oxygen once they have been pressed. After harvest, they are crushed and pumped into a chilled steel tank the is filled with an inert gas such as Argon that will not affect the wine. Only in this way is the wine guaranteed to stay fresh. Once the Sangiovese grapes are crushed, the next time this wine is exposed to air is when you pull the cork to drink it.