Every year, between October and November, the first wines of the harvest begin to appear on the market. Among these, novello wine holds a special place: not only is it the first to arrive, but it is also the result of a specific technique that makes it a unique olfactory experience. But what truly makes a wine “novello”? How can it be recognized? And what are the similarities and differences with other “first wines” around the world? Italian novello wine is not simply a young wine: it is a wine produced at least in part using a winemaking technique called carbonic maceration. This technique, developed and systematized in France in the 1930s, involves placing whole, uncrushed grape clusters into a tank filled with carbon dioxide (CO₂). In this oxygen-free environment, the enzymes inside the berries trigger intracellular fermentation, which alters the grape