CASTELVETRO, Italy – And you thought turning water into wine was just a biblical miracle.
Residents of the northern Italian town of Castelvetro were surprised when red wine flowed from their kitchen faucets and shower heads on Wednesday, CNN reported.
“I washed things in the kitchen. I turned off the tap. I turned it on again and saw wine instead of water, ”56-year-old Maurizio Volpi told the Catholic news agency. “I said ‘Cheers’ and (my dad) and I made a toast.”
The miraculous change came when a malfunction in Settecani Cantina, a wine cellar, caused 1,000 liters of bottled Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC, a red sparkling wine, to seep into the city’s water pipes, according to the Catholic news agency.
According to Giorgia Mezzacqui, deputy mayor of Castelvetro, the breakdown lasted three hours and affected 20 houses.
“At a time when we have very little to smile about, I’m glad we brought some recklessness to others,” Mezzacqui told CNN. “Hopefully one day they will remember us and want to visit us.”
Castelvetro is usually a destination for foodies and wine lovers around the world, but the region has seen an 80% drop in tourism due to the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, Mezzacqui told the network.
The manager of the wine cellar told the Italian news agency AGI that it took an hour to repair a defective valve, which caused the red wine to get back into the water pipe. The valve was connected to the water system for cleaning the wine bottles in the bottling plant.
“Some loyal customers from the region called to notify us and say they were bottling (the wine),” said Fabrizio Amorotti.
“We apologize for the inconvenience, which many people have really appreciated,” city officials said in a press release.
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