The Grape Harvest
Yesterday (Oct. 15, 2005) I was fortunate to participate in the annual grape harvest party at a friend's vineyard. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with mild weather and occasional sunshine.
The grapes were plentiful and occasionally hung in huge clumps just waiting to be clipped.
The first picture below shows the beautiful Michigan colors with a host of volunteers harvesting grapes.
The second picture shows vineyard owner Silvio (Tony) Ciccone with two loyal volunteers.
Finally, Jennifer Ciccone is shown with her mom, Joan, along with Aunt Dorothy Gustafson, Joan's sister-in-law.
I arrived about 9:00 a.m. and worked until about five p.m., but with two interruptions: both dog related. Since Debbie was in South Bend, I had to drive home to let Onya out.
Jerry Gustafson was the straw boss and armed each of us with a bucket, clippers and pair of gloves. He then paired us up to work on a row, with one person on each side.
My first partner was Becky. While we clipped grapes and dropped them in our bucket we were able to have an interesting conversation and learn about each other's background and families. Becky knew quite a bit about wine, since she managed the wine section at a local store.
Once our buckets were filled, we dumped our harvest into one of the lugs placed periodically along the row.
After about two hours Becky had to leave so Tony took her spot. It gave me a chance to catch up on his family news as well as learn a bit about grape growing and wine making.
After the work was done I drove home to feed and walk the dog, then returned for the traditional after harvest party. We watched the end of the U of M game, then the surprise end of the Notre Dame game.
I've participated in past harvests, but this one was especially enjoyable not only because of the great weather, but mostly because of the great people who attended.
The get-together afterwards was especially enjoyable: great grilled chicken and lasagne, stimulating conversation (the U of M fans sang the Victors), and, of course, the wine was terrific.
The grapes were plentiful and occasionally hung in huge clumps just waiting to be clipped.
The first picture below shows the beautiful Michigan colors with a host of volunteers harvesting grapes.
The second picture shows vineyard owner Silvio (Tony) Ciccone with two loyal volunteers.
Finally, Jennifer Ciccone is shown with her mom, Joan, along with Aunt Dorothy Gustafson, Joan's sister-in-law.
I arrived about 9:00 a.m. and worked until about five p.m., but with two interruptions: both dog related. Since Debbie was in South Bend, I had to drive home to let Onya out.
Jerry Gustafson was the straw boss and armed each of us with a bucket, clippers and pair of gloves. He then paired us up to work on a row, with one person on each side.
My first partner was Becky. While we clipped grapes and dropped them in our bucket we were able to have an interesting conversation and learn about each other's background and families. Becky knew quite a bit about wine, since she managed the wine section at a local store.
Once our buckets were filled, we dumped our harvest into one of the lugs placed periodically along the row.
After about two hours Becky had to leave so Tony took her spot. It gave me a chance to catch up on his family news as well as learn a bit about grape growing and wine making.
After the work was done I drove home to feed and walk the dog, then returned for the traditional after harvest party. We watched the end of the U of M game, then the surprise end of the Notre Dame game.
I've participated in past harvests, but this one was especially enjoyable not only because of the great weather, but mostly because of the great people who attended.
The get-together afterwards was especially enjoyable: great grilled chicken and lasagne, stimulating conversation (the U of M fans sang the Victors), and, of course, the wine was terrific.
2 Comments:
Sounds like great fun. I relieve stressful moments by imagining that I own a Napa Valley vineyard that produces a fine Cabernet, and that I spend cool, breezy evenings reading Chaucer by the fire. - THJC
and this one sentence is my glorious break from studying/research paper writing...it's not even grammatically correct.
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