Lambrusco WINE comes out of kitchen taps in Italian village after winery accidentally pumped plonk into local water system
- Lambrusco Grasparossa leaked into Modena water supply from damaged silo
- Locals began bottling the Settecani booze before the authorities turned it off
- A ‘technical fault’ at a nearby winery was later discovered to be the problem
Flowing pink Lambrusco Grasparossa spills into an overflowing bucket that villagers used to bottle up the ‘precious’ liquid before the authorities got wise
Italian villagers must have thought some divinity was at play when they turned on their taps and found wine coming out instead of water.
In a freak occurrence, pink wine poured from the plumbing of people’s homes in a small village near Modena, Italy, on 4 March.
Quickly realising the bouquet was that of locally-brewed Lambrusco Grasparossa, people living in the Castelvetro area of Modena began bottling as much ‘precious’ booze as possible.
Many planned to enjoy the wine ‘later at a lunch or dinner along with other typical Modenese specialties,’ according to Gazzetta di Modena.
The bizarre – and lucky – incident later turned out to be due to a ‘technical fault’ at nearby Settecani winery.
A defective silo was leaking the pink liquid into the local water supply, which was then finding its way into people’s homes…and tummies. Wine has a higher pressure than water in pipes, enabling it to course quickly through plumbing systems and into homes, according to The Local, Italy.
It was quickly identified and technicians put things back to normal.
The local council issued an apology on Facebook.
Some residents expressed concern after the event about the safety of their water supply.
While others complained to the local authority and water company that their windfall had been switched off too soon.
‘I don’t know if it is a publicity stunt that makes you laugh, or a serious problem,’ said one person commenting on the Gazzetta di Modena article.
‘I only hope that those who have a duty to, investigate the story. You will laugh at it as well, but this is not normal.
‘And the apologies of the municipality or the [winery] owner count less than water,’ they added.