Home / The thirty days / Emilia and the Apennines / An acetaia in the roof of a house
Casks under the tiles, and one steep stair
Barrels sit under a roof that is never heated, so reserve an attic acetaia visit near Modena
From $158 per person, 10:00 to 14:00, on the plain in Emilia and the Apennines. This one runs whatever the numbers, for one person or for six, because the household is showing you what it does anyway. Four hours: the yard where the must is cooked, the stair, the casks in descending size under the tiles, and three tastes at the end.
| Starts from | Modena, Italy |
|---|---|
| Hours | 10:00 to 14:00 |
| Runs when | runs whatever the numbers |
| One person pays | from $158 |
| Part of | Emilia and the Apennines |
Four hours in a roof space
An acetaia is a set of casks in the roof of an ordinary house, and the first thing you meet is the stair. The morning begins in the yard, where in autumn the must is cooked in an open pan over a fire and reduced by half or more before it goes anywhere near wood. Upstairs the family walks you along a battery of casks in descending size, chestnut, cherry, oak, ash and mulberry, and explains the topping up: a little liquid moved from each cask to the smaller one beside it, once a year, for as long as the household lasts. You are shown the oldest cask in the roof and told who started it. Three tastes off a small spoon at the end, taken standing, with no ceremony attached.
Stairs, dust and standing still
This is the least demanding day in the region and it is still four hours mostly upright. There is one steep flight with a rope for a handrail and no other way up, so if stairs are a problem, say so and we will tell you before you commit rather than after. The roof is unheated on purpose: cold in February, hot in July, and the swing between them is what drives the liquid through the wood. It is dusty, genuinely so, and anyone who reacts badly to dust or to mould in old timber should weigh that. Children are welcome and are usually bored by the middle hour, which the family takes in good part and works around by handing them the spoon early.
Payment, and what is not included
From $158 per person. The figure holds four hours with the household that keeps the casks, the cooking yard, the walk along the battery, the three tastes, and a written note of what you were shown, because people forget the order of the woods before they are home. It does not hold transport: the house stands outside the city and a car or a taxi is the practical way to reach it. It does not hold beds, though this office will book them on request. The household bills you directly in its own name after the visit. This office takes no payment for the day, holds no card details, and is paid a commission by the household afterwards.
Awkward things people ask about this day
- Can we buy a bottle from the oldest cask?
- No. The oldest cask in that roof is not for sale at any figure, and the household will say so more bluntly than we just have. Small bottles from the younger end of the battery are usually available at the door, priced by the house, and that transaction is between you and them. This office arranges the visit and takes no part in what is sold there.
- Will the visit run if only two of us book?
- Yes. This one runs whatever the numbers, because the family is topping up casks and cooking must whether or not anyone is watching. Two people, six people, one person on a Tuesday: the four hours happen. The only thing that changes is how long you get to ask questions, and that is longer when there are fewer of you in the roof.
- What may we carry home through customs?
- We do not answer that. This office gives no advice on customs, law or documents, and a wrong answer from us would cost you more than the bottle is worth. Ask the carrier you are travelling with, and the authorities of the country you are entering. The household can tell you how it packs a bottle so it survives a case, which is a different question entirely.
The other five days near this one
Two days that look close on a map are not always joinable in one week, and the office will say so plainly instead of selling you the pair anyway.
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from $176 per person needs four -
from $204 per person private only -
from $172 per person needs four -
from $144 per person runs whatever the numbers -
from $166 per person needs eight
Hold this day and add others to it
Booking a day here means the office holds your place with whoever runs that day on the ground, and their invoice reaches you directly once the dates stop moving.