A family tradition has set in.
As a scale of reference, Bob's work will harvest white grapes for over a week whereas we harvested the white grapes in just under two hours. All seven of us. But, to us it was still a good day's work and tonight many a back will make itself known.
For me it must have been my eighth white grape harvest ( can't really call it white wine yet ) and by now the routine involved has become familiar and rather fun. It is a time when friends and family come together to help out. A jovial catching up on annual news and a time to have a nice lunch halfway through the day's work. Not often we all sit around a big table!
The weather made an effort to be obliging even going so far as to make us feel cold this morning. Much better than to frizzle and the news must have spread as most of the vineyards were teeming with activity. Picking was on the go, tractors were collecting grapes and odd snippets of conversations were the order of the day. Amazing what one picks up when walking past a busy vineyard.
The miracle of grapes turning into wine never ceases to amaze me. To think that bunches of grapes get picked, de-stemmed, pressed and then stored in a barrel for a year or so before being dolled out like the proverbial happy pills one glass at a time is stunning bordering almost on magical. What the Romans started all those millenniums ago has been repeated harvest after harvest and been perfected vintage after vintage. Long may the wine making continue and more importantly, long may we enjoy the precious wine created.
Biggi
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