La Vendemmia (The Grape Harvest)!

September 15, 2007 We had the best day ever
today!

OK, so I have said that before, but this was really a super day!


If you remember the post of September 30 , 2006 (and if you don't you can check it out!) we passed a man who had a trailer load of grapes that had just been harvested. His name is Anselmo and we talk with him almost everyday as we pass his house on our walk. This morning, he and his son had a few boxes of grapes they had just picked so Larry asked if they would be starting the harvest and they said yes. He asked if he could help and they told us to come up this afternoon "dopo pranzo" (after lunch). As usual, no time was given! I asked my tutor, Saskia, what it meant in Italy when someone says after lunch and she said between 2:00 and 3:00. We arrived at about 2:10 and they were already going strong!


We had so much fun helping--yes, I helped too! My only plan was to take pictures, but one of the women asked if I had come to help so I said yes. The women and I talked about children and grandchildren and where I came from and about some friends of ours. We asked what kind of grapes they were (the purple (red) were Sangiovese and the green (white) were Trebbiano) and if it is a good idea to plant the grapes on a slope (yes it is).


We would start at the top end of the row with a person on each side of the vine. We'd both be grabbing for grapes and I was worried that one time I would get my fingers cut by the other person! Often there would be 3 or 4 people on each side so when the grapes in your area were gone you would go to the end of the line and start from there. Several times the buckets would tip over and all the grapes would need to be picked up! Lucky for me, it was never my bucket that tipped over!







All in all, we worked very hard for a little over 2 hours. We have the sore backs and the grape stained hands to prove it, too!