October 4th 2008
Le Vendange (The Grape Harvest)
Time: 8am
H coming through the door, fresh from a quick drive to the boulangerie (bakery) in the next village to buy a baguette and some croissants for breakfast.
H: Huh! you miss the most wonderful sight! I saw a convoy of mini-trucks filled with grapes! The vendange is probably still ongoing!
M: Ohh…what a shame! That would have been a great photographic opportunity!
H: But I thought the vendange is over! It’s already October!
That morning, I was restless…my brain was racing…I won’t let this year pass without me taking even a miniscule shot of a Vendange scene. What is the use of being surrounded by vineyards if I can’t even have a souvenir of the grape harvest.
So after lunch, I persuaded H that we go drive around the area with the hope of stumbling upon a grape truck, a grape harvester or anything that has to do with grapes!
And we eventually found them. And I was so ecstatic! I’ve never been so ecstatic for a long time!
while driving on the road, we saw this truck parked just outside a farmhouse.
Not a single soul was there.
Le Vendange in France occurs between September and October. It is the most awaited time when grapes, which started as buds in springtime are ready for harvesting. They are then taken to the wineries to be crushed, fermented and transformed into wine.
H and I have always talked about working as grape pickers. Depending on the size of the vineyard, the contract lasts between 1 to 3-weeks. You get free lunch if you are a resident in the area, otherwise you get free lodging with 3 full meals a day complete with generous supply of table wine plus the nightly activities you create with your fellow boarders, usually jamming and dancing.
Most of the grape-pickers are tourists who just crave for the experience…
Driving further on, we finally saw the real spirit of the Vendange!
These are the grapes that will soon be turned into wine.
The harvesters invited me to take a photo of them. How lucky can I get! I noticed that even a 75-year old man can be a grape-picker.
Every bucket that is filled up is collected by a much younger and stronger man…He had to be! Lifting and pouring the contents of it into a truck higher than him is no easy task.
Saw this vineyard on the way back. Sauvignon blanc is the name they give to a type of green-skinned grapes.
