Finishing 2018 Roussanne Harvest
It is so good to be finishing Roussanne harvest!!! The morning is beautiful, the air is crisp and everyone is excited to be harvesting again!!!
The Harvester
It is so neat to see the harvester coming with a big load of grapes. The guys are great at driving the harvester, regular pros!
On the harvester, there are always at least two people - the driver and the co-pilot. Obviously, the driver drives but he also changes the settings as needed. The co-pilot checks how the harvester is picking (making sure there isn't any fruit left on the vines, the grapes being picked don't have to many leaves in them, etc.) and he also gets to keep the driver company!!! They sure do love to drive it.
It's fun to ride on the harvester and see the vineyard from above. It is fun to watch the grapes being harvested and put into the on-board bins!
Dumping the Grapes
Once again, John is directing the tractor driver - and doing a fine job! The grapes pouring out of the dump buggy and into bins is such a good sight! They sure do look pretty tumbling down into the bins.
It's so nice to see the line of bins full of grapes! Seeing the fruit of your labor is truly rewarding. It is also great to be finishing our 2018 Roussanne harvest. Finishing up a variety is always a sense of accomplishment.
Early mornings are great to harvest the grapes because that is when the grapes are the coolest. We started harvesting as soon it was light to catch the grapes at their coolest. Another plus is that we have been able to see some gorgeous sunrises!!!
Finished with 2018 Roussanne Harvest
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the Roussanne grapes were out of the field - we don't have to worry about the bunch rot affecting them! Thankfully, we did not see very much bunch rot compared to last couple of years, praise the Lord!
Now the bins of grapes and waiting to be loaded into the refrigerated semi-truck and then taken to the winery!!!
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