Those spring days after Winter are most welcome.
The vines need tending to no matter what. Well, if it is really cold or frosty then there is nothing to be done but wait for warmer days. We have had such a great run of sunshine and azure blue skies lately, that the vineyards are alive & kicking with everyone tending to their rows.
Bob and I are helping in the vineyard today and we have organized a little field-pack: A rucksack ( more of a handbag disguised as rucksack ) packed with vittles, sunscreen, tissues and communication devices! More than likely Bob will don his trusty shorts because this sunshine reminds him of South Africa but there is still that crisp cold wind now and again. So Bob, maybe not the shorts!
Being in the vineyards is fun and quite social. Now and again you can see the other pruners up above or below your plot and a nice little chat is often had. Not too long, as everyone wants to firstly finish the work and secondly carry on their divine solitude. Working outside in a vineyard is like that. You are so focused on the task at hand that you forget any and all problems.
Fortunately the rows we are tending to are on an even bit of the hill with only the side bits on a sharp incline. You do get some vineyards that are on a very steep hill indeed. Steep enough, that even a tractor might not make it up or down. Working on those vines will get you fit in no time.
Of course, the grapes harvested from those very steep inclines must surely be more sweet as they do get much more sunshine.
I was looking at a book of the history of Vienna ( gosh, starting from the 1100's ) and when I got to about 1900, there was a picture of one of the vineyards of Vienna. It showed a worker tending to it and apart form the black & white colour, it could have been a carbon copy of a vineyard of today. We tend to forget that growing and making wine goes back to very ancient times. Wine was the nectar of the Gods ( and for them ) after all...
Biggi
A calendar of our area...
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