GOLDEN SUITE

In the Non Valley, during spring when the water of Lake Santa Giustina starts lowering, the old main traffic system and the steep terrain with the Groppello vineyards resurface. The majestic and uncompromising Mount Ozolo dominates this landscape and acts like a guard of the fertile valley. The people who had to walk along the Regiai road to leave their village in search of fortune keep those memories very alive. Their trip started by descending the valley along the Regiai road, walking through the luxuriant vineyards that were supported by dry stone walls, downright mosaics of stones built to help the growth of the vineyard. Those who left and casted a glance at their village for one last time could catch sight of the Ozolo, the mountain of the primordial man, of hunting and friendship. They also had to cross a bold stone bridge that still exists and is jealously safeguarded by the lake water, which has also sunken together with the bridge hectares of vineyards of Groppello, the vine of the traditional and vigorous wine produced in the Non Valley. Its name is said to come from the typical structure of the grapes, which are compact and resemble a thick tangle ("groppo" in local dialect), almost a defense against the shifting temperatures of the fall that gives the grapes a bright color and a honey-like sweetness. The production at the end of the nineteenth century was of circa fifty thousand hectoliters of wine, but today it has reduced to only five hundred hectoliters produced by about thirty courageous farmers who want to preserve an authentic patrimony of taste and flavor. These wine makers have the will to safeguard a vineyard that is at risk of extinction and work the land as they used to do many years ago: with hoe, shovel, and a lot of sweat! The Groppello vineyard extended to the bottom of Mount Ozolo, but on the higher slopes the more rigid temperatures allowed only for the growth of pines, spruces, larches, broad-leaved trees, and pastures. In the course of the years, this typical vegetation of the mountain has provided the population with the raw material to build houses, to keep warm during the winter, and to feed the animals. Mount Ozolo has also been since ancient times the "sacred" mountain of the valley, and today it has become a game preserve and a site of socialization for young people who know how to love and respect nature.