Carinyena is the grape variety we harvest last. This year its quality has been good to very good. On the family architect’s field we harvested in a muggy afternoon 30 boxes of premium quality grapes, and on a breezy Saturday a tractor load of good grapes. The vines are old and not supported by guiding lines, i.e. they grow close to the ground and it is hard on your back harvesting the grapes. On the field we went to they use a method called “sexual confusion” to prevent a pest from mating and multiplying; the system comes from Japan and works with smells, I think. As to the harvesters we were the typical family team: the 82 year old officially retired wine grower, uncle of the 61 year old public sector worker and active wine grower, his 56 year old wife (officially in charge of all the family’s agricultural activities as she once received subsidies as a young farmer), the already mentioned 47 year old family architect on visit from the capital (owner of the field) and the active wine growers’ 38 year old immigrant son-in-law who irregularly works in editing and translation.
For breakfast there was salted herring roasted on-site for those who like it, the uncle cooked some tomatoes on the fire, too; then there was bread with ham and cheese, nuts and cookies, water and wine.
In general, 2010 has been a very good year as to the grapes’ quality due to a cool and rainy winter and a very dry summer.
(Written on Sept. 27 but not posted earlier due to problems with the internet connection.)
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