Residents of a small Italian village were granted a miracle of biblical proportions the other day, when they turned on their taps to see sparkling red wine flowing out instead of water.
Jesus, is that you?
Okay, so no, it’s not actually Jesus Christ this time around, but for residents living in a peaceful Italian village near Modena in the northern Emilia-Romagna region, it may as well have been.
That’s exactly what happened when a winery accidentally pumping a load of wine into the local water system, meaning for a brief time residents were blessed with a fizzy pink liquid flowing from their kitchen taps instead of water.
It would probably make a questionable brew, but I doubt anyone would be complaining at a free tipple.
The unusual mishap affected people living in the Castelvetro area of Modena and was a consequence of a ‘technical fault’ at the nearby Setticani winery.
It happened when one of the silos hosting the wine began leaking into water pipes, and because of the higher pressure it began flowing through the system and into nearby houses in the village.
Technicians were quickly sent out by the water board to fix the bizarre issue, but not before residents bottled as much of the precious liquid as they could to enjoy later at a lunch or dinner along with other typical Modenese specialities, according to reports in the Gazette di Modena.
An apology was later issued to residents from the local council, though they were inundated with comments from residents concerned with potential safety issues surrounding their water supply. Fortunately, residents were grateful that the issue had been managed to be resolved so quickly.
The wine that had been flowing into people’s kitchens was a distinctive red fizzy wine, which is said to have been around since the Etruscan period some 2,000 or more years ago.
While it doesn’t make many sales elsewhere in the world, the wine is hugely popular in its native Italy – so you can imagine the response they must’ve had to see it flooding into their kitchen sinks.
It probably wasn’t ideal for anyone wanting a shower or trying to feed a child, but hey, who are we to say no to free wine?
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.