A malfunction causes red wine to flow from faucets in an Italian town
Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman, CNN • Updated 7th March 2020
Up next
Cops rush to lift car off of trapped baby and mom
01:00
'The Simpsons' is doing something it's never done before
00:39
Intoxicated Seth Meyers has trouble with Lorde's real name
02:04
Why Matt Damon's daughter won't watch 'Good Will Hunting'
01:01
Hear the BAM bus women describe their first meeting
01:20
Dog was missing for 5 days. Then a neighbor heard whining behind a wall
01:33
Goose has an adorable reaction when mate has surgery
01:55
$3 million domed home (that comes with indoor slide) goes up for sale
01:37
This bear had a bucket on its head for more than a week
02:06
Employees go viral after resigning via Burger King sign
02:22
(CNN) — Who wouldn't love it if red wine started flowing from their kitchen sink?
For a few hours Wednesday, residents of the northern Italian town of Castelvetro realized they could have their Lambrusco not just from bottles -- but also from their faucets and shower heads.
A malfunction at a local winery caused 1,000 liters of ready-to-be-bottled wine to leak into the water pipes.
The glitch lasted about three hours and impacted about 20 homes, said Giorgia Mezzacqui, deputy mayor of Castelvetro, about 10 miles south of Modena.
The local government posted on its Facebook page that the leak didn't pose any health risks.
The incident provided a moment of levity to the town that's in the midst of the coronavirus crisis -- which has hit northern Italy the hardest.
"At a time where we have very little to smile about, I'm glad we brought some levity to others," Mezzacqui told CNN. "Hopefully some day they'll remember us and will want to come visit us."
What happened
Here's what happened, according to the Cantina Settecani winery.
The malfunction was caused by a faulty valve in the washing circuit within the bottling line. Lambrusco Grasparossa, a local specialty, seeped through the town's water lines due to its pressure, the winery said in a statement obtained by CNN.
The malfunction was caused by a faulty valve in the washing circuit within the bottling line. Lambrusco Grasparossa, a local specialty, seeped through the town's water lines due to its pressure, the winery said in a statement obtained by CNN.
Fabrizio Amorotti, commercial manager at Cantina Settecani, said the malfunction "was appreciated by many. Some clients in the areas called us to warn us about it, and to share they were bottling the wine!"
Castelvetro, in the heart of the Emilia-Romagna region, is normally a destination for food and wine enthusiasts from all over the world. Since the outbreak though, 80% of tourism structures in the area have had cancellations, Deputy Mayor Mezzacqui said.
Small towns such as Castelvetro are "the engine propelling an extraordinary nation, but now we need everybody's help to survive," she told CNN.
