Like us the grapes have been enjoying the warmth and sun of summer, and unlike like us, they have been enjoying the rain as well! They are now looking less like green bullets and more grape-like. So much so that thoughts are rapidly turning to harvest.
Amazingly, given the general situation and that it is my first as a vineyard owner it has been a fantastic summer. I have been kept busy with a steady flow of visitors. It has been wonderful to welcome them to the vineyard, show them round, talk to a wide range of lovely and interesting people and obviously share a glass or two of wine.
The pizza oven has been even more successful than I imagined, I and my accomplices have become proficient pizza makers. We have seen birthdays, anniversaries, family get together and even a couple of hen do’s - something I never imagined hosting when I began!
The vines have been growing like triffids and we have been kept busy cutting them back to allow the grapes to get the air and ripen in the sunshine. In fact the Madeliene Angevine are very nearly ready and will be my first grapes to harvest.
If you asked me a year ago what grapes made what wine I would have only had a vague idea based on the labels on bottles of wine I drank. However, what I could have assumed was that white grapes make white wine and red grapes make red wine. Seems logical but absolutely not the case. To find out more though you’ll just have to come and visit!
So with my new expertise I can tell you that the Madeleine Angevine and Pinot Gris go into a single varietal white wine while the Pinot noir, Pinot meunier and Auxerrois goe into the rosé and the sparkling wines. That’s all on the wine though as you’ll have to come on a tour to learn more! 😉
It looks like it will be a good harvest. There are plenty of bunches on the vines and the grapes seem to be of a good size. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to my first harvest, and eventually my first bottle of wine from grapes I have grown and tended personally.
Cheers!