Grape harvest 2010: Carinyena

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.)

The grape harvest again

Two weeks ago the grape harvest finally started in our village. The time depends on the grapes' maturity and varies from region to region and village to village and probably according to the winemakers' preferences, too. Before and during harvest time, the wine growers watch the weather forecast more closely than they normally do as a lot of their future income depends on the state of the grapes on harvesting day.
The local cooperative determines which growing zones and grape varieties get preference and how the harvest proceeds. During one or two days a rabbi comes from Barcelona to supervise personally the delivery of the grapes that are used in the production of kosher wine - a great idea to draw a lot of attention to the cooperative and its other wines that sell in more than 40 countries.
Though in other places the harvest is widely mechanized, here the grapes are harvested manually: a labor-intensive and back-breaking operation. One heads out before sunrise, often accompanied by relatives from the city who return for a few days to reconnect with their roots and lend a helping hand. The best part of the workday is the breakfast hour around or shortly after the full sunrise; the traditional meal consists of herring roasted over an open fire accompanied by bread and wine.
As one works side by side with the others there is a lot of time for the exchange of family news and village developments. After all the news have been shared it's time for the old stories that are retold for the benefit of the younger generations and the newcomers: stories involving villagers dead or alive and crimes or scandals.
The afternoon is normally quieter as the work seems harder with tiredness and higher temperatures. One goes to bed early as the body demands rest.
These events are repeated every year. During the first week one still enjoys it. Afterwards it becomes a little tiring, especially if the mosquitoes and flies do not move away from one's head on a muggy day and the grapes begin to rot due to late harvesting or rain showers not untypical for this time of the year.