Red wine flows from kitchen faucets in northern Italian town

CASTELVETRO, Italy — And you thought turning water into wine was only a biblical miracle.

Residents of the northern Italian town of Castelvetro were surprised Wednesday when red wine began flowing from their kitchen faucets and showerheads, CNN reported.

“I was washing stuff in the kitchen. I turned off the faucet. I turned it on again, and instead of water I saw wine,” Maurizio Volpi, 56, told Catholic News Agency. “I said, ‘Cheers,’ and (my father) and I made a toast.”

The miraculous transformation occurred when a malfunction at Settecani Cantina, a wine cellar, caused 1,000 liters of bottled Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC, a sparkling red wine, to leak into the town’s water pipes, according to Catholic News Agency.

According to Giorgia Mezzacqui, deputy mayor of Castelvetro, the glitch lasted three hours and impacted 20 homes.

“At a time where we have very little to smile about, I’m glad we brought some levity to others,” Mezzacqui told CNN. “Hopefully, someday they’ll remember us and will want to come visit us.”

Castelvetro, is normally a destination for food and wine enthusiasts worldwide, but the area has suffered an 80% drop in tourism because of the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, Mezzacqui told the network.

The manager of the wine cellar told Italian news agency AGI it took an hour to repair a broken valve, which caused the red wine to back up into the water main. The valve was connected to the water system for cleaning the wine bottles in the bottling plant.

“Some loyal customers from the area called us to notify us and share that they were bottling (the wine),” Fabrizio Amorotti said.

“We apologize for the inconvenience which, in reality, many have much appreciated,” city officials said in a release.

Cox Media Group