September is when the Chianti comes alive: here's what to expect during the grape harvest, among vineyards, cellars and village festivals.
Anyone arriving in the Chianti in September finds a different landscape from July: the vine rows fill with people, tractors head out early in the morning, and in the evening air you can often catch the sweet scent of fermenting must in the cellars. It's harvest month, the most intense and most beautiful time to really understand what it means to live in wine country.
When the harvest starts
In our area, between Castellina in Chianti and Siena, the Sangiovese harvest usually begins in the second half of September and can run into the first days of October, depending on how the summer has gone. The dates change every year: a hot vintage can bring the harvest forward by as much as a week compared with a cooler one, so anyone planning a trip specifically for the harvest would do well to write to local estates a month ahead for a more precise idea.
What you'll see among the vines
Hand-picking is still the norm for Chianti Classico, especially on the steeper or older plots where machines can't operate. Teams move row by row with secateurs, filling crates that are brought to the cellar within a few hours so pressing can begin while the grapes are still fresh. It's a sight you can watch simply by walking along the white gravel roads that cross the hills, but the best way to really understand it is to take part, even just for one morning.
Open cellars
September and October are also the months when many Chianti wineries organise visits and tastings built specifically around the harvest, often with the chance to taste freshly pressed must alongside wine from previous vintages. It's worth alternating between a larger estate, set up for tourist visits, and a family-run producer like ours, where you see the everyday work without any filter.
Village festivals
In the villages of the Chianti, the harvest brings with it fairs and local festivals, often held on weekends in late September: people eat outdoors, dance in the squares, and it's not unusual to find stalls selling freshly picked grapes alongside seasonal garden produce. Castellina in Chianti, Radda and Greve all have their own annual events, which shift slightly in date from year to year while keeping a similar spirit.
Taking part in the harvest
At Il Poggio we organise harvest mornings open to guests throughout the picking season: no experience is needed, our vineyard team explains how to move safely among the rows and how to use the secateurs. It's an activity suitable for families with children too, and it always ends with a snack in the shade, with bread, new-pressed oil and a glass of the previous vintage's wine.
Whether you choose to take an active part or simply watch the fieldwork up close, September remains the month when the Chianti tells its story best: not just a landscape to photograph, but a working countryside.