I labored in the vineyard today…and what a blessing it was!
As we pulled up to the Black Oak Vineyard in Central Minnesota, we quickly realized that this wasn’t a tour day as we had thought…it was a work day. We weren’t dressed for the cool wet conditions but we walked into the vineyard anyway and met Terri, one of the owners. She carried her camera and a box of clippers. “We’ve come to help with the harvest,” I said. And after the ‘short course’ on harvesting grapes we joined the 30 others who were standing along the vines, snipping and clipping under the cloudy October skies.
I caught on fast and before I knew it, I had five gallons of the little beauties. They smelled so sweet and I wanted to taste just one...but wondered if it would be proper. Then I saw one of the other workers, perched on a yellow pail, popping one grape after another into his mouth…and I followed suit! Mmmmmm…so fresh…so sweet!
After several hours of clipping the beautiful blue bunches...and tasting a few more grapes, our little crew had harvested nearly 8,000 pounds of Frontenac Gris grapes…and the fruit of our labors filled a small semi truck!
We were invited to stay for lunch...and wine.
Here are some things I learned from my day in the vineyard:
Prior to grapes forming on the vine, there are no blossoms.
Had a frost come to the vineyard before the scheduled harvest, the grapes would be left on the vines and the harvest would be delayed until December when they’d be used for a special ‘ice wine,’ a much sweeter dessert wine.
Pests can be a problem: deer, birds, bugs and even mice!
Frontenac Gris wine presents aromas of peaches or apricots with hints of enticing citrus and tropical fruit.
I love the wine made with Frontenac Gris grapes!
Managing a vineyard is quite labor intensive and requires a significant commitment of time and money on the part of the grower.
The Bordeaux wine region in France is roughly at the same latitude as Minneapolis. So Minnesota is a perfect place to grow grapes.
A vineyard…what a wonderful retirement hobby for the two of us! Paul likes growing things and I like wine. Perfect match!
In that day, sing about the fruitful vineyard. Isaiah 27:2
As we pulled up to the Black Oak Vineyard in Central Minnesota, we quickly realized that this wasn’t a tour day as we had thought…it was a work day. We weren’t dressed for the cool wet conditions but we walked into the vineyard anyway and met Terri, one of the owners. She carried her camera and a box of clippers. “We’ve come to help with the harvest,” I said. And after the ‘short course’ on harvesting grapes we joined the 30 others who were standing along the vines, snipping and clipping under the cloudy October skies.
I caught on fast and before I knew it, I had five gallons of the little beauties. They smelled so sweet and I wanted to taste just one...but wondered if it would be proper. Then I saw one of the other workers, perched on a yellow pail, popping one grape after another into his mouth…and I followed suit! Mmmmmm…so fresh…so sweet!
After several hours of clipping the beautiful blue bunches...and tasting a few more grapes, our little crew had harvested nearly 8,000 pounds of Frontenac Gris grapes…and the fruit of our labors filled a small semi truck!
We were invited to stay for lunch...and wine.
Here are some things I learned from my day in the vineyard:
Prior to grapes forming on the vine, there are no blossoms.
Had a frost come to the vineyard before the scheduled harvest, the grapes would be left on the vines and the harvest would be delayed until December when they’d be used for a special ‘ice wine,’ a much sweeter dessert wine.
Pests can be a problem: deer, birds, bugs and even mice!
Frontenac Gris wine presents aromas of peaches or apricots with hints of enticing citrus and tropical fruit.
I love the wine made with Frontenac Gris grapes!
Managing a vineyard is quite labor intensive and requires a significant commitment of time and money on the part of the grower.
The Bordeaux wine region in France is roughly at the same latitude as Minneapolis. So Minnesota is a perfect place to grow grapes.
A vineyard…what a wonderful retirement hobby for the two of us! Paul likes growing things and I like wine. Perfect match!
In that day, sing about the fruitful vineyard. Isaiah 27:2
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