Vintage day

Today we were invited to help friends in Franklin with vintage - harvesting this year's pinot grapes. Luckily they decided to move the date from yesterday with its alternating waves of sun and icy rain to today's perfect autumn day. A small army of locals armed with cutters and buckets moved up and down the rows, snipping the bunches of grapes off and delivering full buckets to the waiting bins on a truck to be carted away for wine making. We stopped for a delicious morning tea and were treated to a huge lunch spread afterwards, complete with wine and music by Steve and Marjorie Gadd. I could see that so much work had gone into having all of us volunteer helpers on site, I sure hope the harvest was worth it! We really enjoyed the day, chatting with friends and new acquaintances among the vines. It feels great to be tired from working outdoors.