Explosion Spills 8,000 Gallons of Prosecco, Creates Massive Wine Fountain

People say there's no point in crying over spilled milk, but have you ever wondered what the proper reaction to spilled prosecco is? Specifically, 8,000 gallons of it? Do you scream? Sob? Grab a straw and drink as much as you can? It's tough to know exactly, but that's precisely what a winery in Italy had to deal with recently, when one of its silos exploded, showering the grounds with a spectacular cascade of sparkling wine. 

The unfortunate flood of unconsumed alcohol occurred at the winery L'enoteca Zanardo Giussano in Conegliano, Italy on September 25, when one of its fermentation tanks burst, creating quite the dramatic scene. The sparkling wine fountain was briefly caught on camera (shown above). It's unclear whether the explosion was due to a faulty piece of equipment or an employee error, but the reality is it turned into an uncontrollable fountain, sending roughly 40,000 bottles worth of bubbly over the top and onto the ground.

For any wine-lover, such a sight is downright tragic, but that hasn't stopped many from making light of the situation on social media, where the video has already racked up over a million views.

Many were more than willing to volunteer to help clean things up themselves. 

Fortunately, the region where the winery is located has experienced an especially bountiful harvest this year, so the loss may not be as devastating as it could been since Italy is on track to produce somewhere near 600 million bottles of the prosecco this year, according to the Evening Standard.

Still, it's hard not to feel for all the mimosas that could have been. 

h/tTime

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Joe McGauley is a senior writer for Thrillist. Follow him @jwmcgauley.