Summer is arriving in Italy's wine country in Tuscany, and the leaves on the vines shimmer in gold and green. Yahya Adams moves his gloves through the foliage, removing excess buds and shoots to make the vines stronger. He's among 24 asylum-seekers from Africa and Asia who are working in vineyards of Tenute Silvio Nardi on this year's crop of Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy's most famous wines.

They come from Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Pakistan and other countries, with no prior experience in wine-making. But they have found temporary work here through a local non-profit group that helps asylum-seekers find legal employment in vineyards or olive groves while their claims are being processed.