Our First Day of Harvest
We started about 6:30, in the vineyard with two crews and myself, Joe, my mother, father, and friends Johnny and Gary. The goal was to pick the Pommard clone for Schramsberg Vineyards' Reserve sparkling program. What we ended up with was about 55% the fruit we've picked in those two blocks in past years.
It was an uneventful day, with the tractors making loops through the vineyard as the crews picked and we (and a few crew members) sorted the fruit and pulled out any MOG from the bins. The tractor would then deliver the fruit to the waiting truck and another would pull in the row it just left, eliminating any waiting around with full lug boxes of grapes.
The workers are worried this year. With no fruit on the vines, there's less harvest work for them. Not only are the growers hurt with the decreased crop, but also the people that work the vines. It's sad, but in years like this all we can say is "such is farming."
Photos of harvest:
It was an uneventful day, with the tractors making loops through the vineyard as the crews picked and we (and a few crew members) sorted the fruit and pulled out any MOG from the bins. The tractor would then deliver the fruit to the waiting truck and another would pull in the row it just left, eliminating any waiting around with full lug boxes of grapes.
The workers are worried this year. With no fruit on the vines, there's less harvest work for them. Not only are the growers hurt with the decreased crop, but also the people that work the vines. It's sad, but in years like this all we can say is "such is farming."
Photos of harvest:
Crews picking Pinot
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