Working the Oatley Harvest
A family affair at Oatley — picking the 2010 Madeleine Angevine harvest alongside 19 volunteers, including Matthew, two young nieces, and a very unhelpful dog named Milo.
I was fortunate enough to take part in the first picking of the Oatley harvest on Sunday 26th September. Joining me was my partner Matthew and my two nieces, Ellie (12) and Rhianna (8). They joined in by default but all seemed keen — not too many complaints about the 7am wake-up call.
We arrived at 9am to the smell of hot coffee and home-made apple juice — perfect. Everyone gradually arrived and we had 19 in total. Iain went through health and safety and the correct technique for cutting the grapes. We would only pick the large, ripe bunches — the smaller secondary bunches we left, as these are not ripe and would make the wine bitter.
We picked Madeleine Angevine — the early ripening grape that makes Jane's wine: a herbaceous, lemony, clean and crisp white. There were plenty of wasps around, very keen on the juice from the grapes.
Into the Rows
Off we went along our chosen vines with secateurs in hand. Buckets doubled as seats when your back needed a rest from bending over. Once small buckets were filled, we carried them to the end of the row to fill the larger containers. Matthew had the job of loading all the filled containers onto the truck.
It was interesting to see how, even within a single row, the grapes ripen at different rates. It confirms how vital the right vineyard positioning is, and how important pruning is for sunlight and air circulation.
The Finish
100 large containers loaded on the truck and we were done. Sticky hands, red faces, sore backs, nettle stings, wasp stings and a cut from the secateurs. That was just Ellie and Rhianna. Still smiling, though — and satisfied.
The grapes would be taken to Shepton Mallet first thing Monday to be crafted into wine. Iain opened bottles of their reserve sparkling wine — delicious, delicate bubbles, helping the sore back just melt away. We were then privileged to join Iain and his family for a home-made four-course meal with plenty of wine.
A fantastic experience. I felt it was genuinely educational for Ellie and Rhianna to see where their wine comes from. See you all next harvest time.
