vendage

Vendage

It's arrived!

This week has been pretty busy, P and I went to help with the Rosé harvest at the Chateux that belongs to the co=op and after that I've spent hours reversing with the tractor dreading this morning as it was going to be just P and myself after the president of the CUMA had gone to do a tasting. As it was I didn't have to do much driving and just took the tractor down through the vines to meet the vendage machine.

We have harvested most of the whites, although there is a small problem with the parcelle out the front as the lines are a curious and random mix of red and white. So for two rows of that I walked backwards in front of the machine signaling to Mikael when to turn the batons off.

It's hard to impress how noisy and mechanical it all is, so un-romantic, but it's still pretty amazing to see your grapes flow out of the back of the vast machine into the precisely positioned trailer.

I went up on top of the machine for a couple of rows. The cab has a glass floor so the driver can see where he's going and it appears to adjust in every direction.

Think I'll stick to practicing reversing with the benne!

Meetings meetings.

It's the count down to the biggest time in our calender. We've been to two meetings today, with Avril, thank god, and now feel more informed but still slightly apprehensive.

The first meeting was for the Co-op and was about when they are looking to come and do the vendage for various varietys. We had a tour of the cave and saw what will happen to it all. It seems like its all going to be a bit pot luck asa to whether they end up at ours for lunch or not. Basically they have lunch wherever they are at 1pm.

We then had lunch and went for another meeting this time with the CUMA and then Mr Baudin took us to see the harvester and we met Thierry's Dad and went to a Chateaux where the co-op rents some vines.

We've had a really amazing day, it feels slightly surreal to see your name up as a vintner and stand on top of the cuve looking out over the countryside above where, in three weeks of so, our grapes will be bubbling away.

Bring on the vendage... and please dont let me have to drive one of the tractors!