I don't have time right now to give an extensive post. I haven't recently because my internet access was restricted as my hosts were out of town. We have internet at the house through a mobile connection so when Chad leaves, the internet goes with him.
I'll have more of an update later. Last weekend was a good one. Didn't go too far from home but still had a good weekend. This week has been trying. This weekend coming is a 3day weekend and I'm debating on venturing to the west coast. Depends on the purse strings.
Lastly, I want to comment here about my last post so it again doesn't get lost in the comments section.
I understand fully that it would be an unwise decision to attempt to buy that property which is called Zee Stratton (my Kiwi is getting better), not Z'Strata. I also understand fully the other side of the equation for the owner who has gone through a divorce and is dealing with this global economy. Truly I do. In fact, I was having thoughts on my last day there and into the weekend to try and find the owner and convince them of what they have in their possession; to also see that the best way to stick it to the other person (the impression I get is the owner of the vineyard got the short end of the stick, but this is an impression and by no means the truth) would be to make that vineyard kick ass. It could be done I think with a lot of blood, sweat, tears and probably money. I was also thinking if I'd get involved with something like that.
What I was trying to get across was how it made me feel to be there working on individual plants and also the larger organism which is the property. I should say here that these are my thoughts, things I think about while I'm clipping nets or bunch thinning, or stirring oatmeal. I'm thinking it. Doesn't mean I'll do anything about it. I also think things like I wanna move to Atlanta or sell my motorcycle or become a falconer. It's entirely possible to do all these things, but I doubt they'll happen. Well, maybe not the falconer thing.
Back to the plants. I also wanna say that I'm not sure if 5yrs ago I would've thought the same way as I did that day on the vineyard. Meaning, I don't know if I would've had the connection I felt to those plants or to that property. I don't know if I would've felt so pissed about how the place was being neglected. But that day I did and I felt strongly about it that day that I wanted to share them with you all. Maybe I shouldn't have asked for money to spare, huh? Ah well. Let me also say thank you for the concern I heard from some of you. It's appreciated.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Got $2-3,000,000 USD to spare?
I've decided to put off the deeper post I've been thinking about writing recently to instead tell you about the vineyard I've been working at for the last 2 days. Something about the events of today make me want to write about it instead, especially since I haven't formed completely coherent sentences about the former yet.
We've been working at a vineyard called ZStrata or Z-Strata, or Z'Strata or Zee-Straghtan or however you spell (I don't speak Kiwi very well so I don't really know what the name is. Some variation of this) for the last 2 days and will be there tomorrow. We've been doing the normal stuff of bunch thinning and setting nets but the weather hasn't been cooperating. Yesterday was probably a high of 15C from a morning that started out with rain and 8C temperatures. It's been cold enough during this week of the end of summer/beginning of fall month that there's snow down to ~1500m (~5000ft). The week before we were enjoying 28-30C days. The older Kiwis I work with have been telling me that I've now experienced all four seasons of the region. It made for a colder and shorter (rained delayed) day of bunch thinning pinot gris. It wasn't unbearable I think because of the location. The vineyard is on the Clutha River in the valley between Wanaka and Cromwell. Most of the wind blows up through the area to the north, but I think we lucked out yesterday.
Keith and I started on our rows doing what we normally do, but it was a lot easier than it normal. The rows we started in were relatively short and the plants were pretty poor. The leaves were showing signs of death around the edges and the amount of fruit was really low. This vineyard was planted in 2003/03 so it should be starting to generate some decent fruit by now. We made our way through a couple of rows chatting about whatnot with an occasional 'these are pretty poor, eh?' from Keith followed by a 'yeah, they look like crap' from me. It's not uncommon for there to be variation going from the macro level to the micro level (as is true for many things)–vineyard-to-vineyard, block-to-block, row-to-row, plant-to-plant–so I didn't think much of it. We continued on, all of us chatting (well I generally don't have a lot to say, unless addressed specifically, as the rest tend to talk about local current events, what was on the tele last night, who lived next to who in Invercargill in 1972 and things of this nature), and Greg and Lynne showing me here and there what powdery mildew looks like.
Then the story of the vineyard's ownership came up in conversation as the entire property is for sale. Long story short, there's a separation of a couple involved and the current separatee owner of the property doesn't seem to want it anymore. I'm listening to this story and looking around and thinking about the possibilities. Remember, right now, the USD doubles the second you step off the plane in NZ. Here's the stats from the real estate signs at the front gate.
Z'Strata Real Estate Property Photo. Goes from the river to the tree line on the left, to the tree line in the back, to the division line that runs through the 2 conifer groves on the right.
So the guys I'm working with have said the asking price is $3M NZ, but it's been on the market for about a year. When I heard the price, I'm was thinking 'this is a steal!! You could offer $1.75-1.8M and possibly be considered in this market, especially after seeing some of these plants.' I pondered this here and there throughout the rest of the day when I'd take a break to look around at the snow capped mountains while I chewed on grape skins and grape seeds.
Today, we were back there again starting where the Vanuatus (migrant workers, ask me about it later or when I'm back stateside) had left off. Keith and I started on our rows and we were moving pretty quickly because these plants looked like anus. Absolute and utter shit. More and more comments are going back and forth between Keith and I about how awful the plants look, the general neglect that the vineyard is under at the moment, and hypothesizing about how the vineyard got to this state. We all finished off the last of the block we were working in and moved on to another area of pinot gris.
Neglect and who knows what else had hit these plants hard. It became difficult for me to concentrate on what I was doing. All I could think about was how could someone do this? How could someone just throw away money like this? How could someone not care at all about these plants? Granted, I'm thinking about the other side of the equation at the moment–what the potential mindset of the owner must be right now, but at the time all I was thinking about was the plants and the property. I'd go through entire bays (space between the posts of /training wire) and drop almost all the fruit off all the plants. The vines were covered in powdery mildew and it was starting to spread to the fruit. I'd ask myself 'What winemaker would want this fruit?' I was still eating the clean grapes which tasted just fine, but the appearance and size was just horrendous. I just found myself getting more and more annoyed. On top of the general neglect of the plants, I'm noticing the training wire system for the rows. It's noticeable immediately that the posts of this vineyard aren't the standard wooden posts, but instead metal posts with plastic caps. These are a great idea if you intend to get certified organic (wooden posts are treated with arsenic to help with weatherproofing–same problem as the wood in older playgrounds) and the cost is probably a little less considering their either aluminum or some sort of blend. So great idea in theory, but the posts are shite in application. They're not bent or anything, but the rows wobble like an old chain-link fence because the posts just rock back and forth in this dry, alluvial soil.
Maybe it was where we were on the property and the view I had before me that made me so pissed. Maybe it was the properties potential. Maybe it was because this type of property would be something I'd want and someone else is just pissing it away. Whatever it was, I found myself personifying the property. It reminded me of The Giving Tree later on in the day. What really struck me was how pissed I was at the neglect; thinking things like these plants didn't ask for this; this property didn't want to be treated like this; all these plants wanna do is make grapes and they aren't even being given a fair chance. I'd go back and forth from looking at my surroundings and thinking 'it's possible to turn it around' to 'who in the hell would want the burden of trying to turn this around and for the possibility that it'll all be crap after you've poured all your blood, sweat and tears.' I started thinking you'd need 15-20yrs to turn it around (it was planted in 2002/03 and you'd need double the amount of time to properly turn it around. Crazy, right?). How could I make it economical to turn it around? C'mon, these thoughts are just ludicrous, you wouldn't want that stone around your neck! I'll change the name to Veinte Anos, and import about 20 Hispanics over here to help do it (I wouldn't 'import' them. Of course we'd go through the proper channels). Then I'd look at the plants I'm thinning and think, there's no way. It also made me think about the company I'm working for and the time and money they've spent there and what it looks like. Maybe they've signed a contract, but it's obvious that this vineyard was set up poorly and is being managed poorly.
First vintage off the property is gonna be absolute piss. But I'm sure someone will buy it. If not around here, maybe up in the northern wine regions that don't have as many acres of pinot noir and pinot gris planted but want a bottle of it to sell to the consumer. UUUUggggjhhhhh. Serenity now. Serenity now. Serenity now. I'm learning a lot. I'm learning a lot. I'm learning a lot.
By the time we broke for lunch, I was quite disgusted. Thankfully we went off to a much more labor intensive task after lunch so I didn't have to think about it all. I've gotta go back tomorrow to finish on the nets. I'm sure I'll spend a major portion of the day scheming how to make it work then shooting the schemes outta the sky. Oh, right. Tomorrow's Friday the 13th again. Joy.
Here's some regional porn from the last week to make both you and I feel better. Sorry for the language, but I'm a bit sore about it all.
Full moon in Queenstown. Halo means it's going to snow, right?
Cromwell
Sunday Dinner. Pork chops with cherries and basil.
Snow on the way to work on Wednesday
View from one of the hills at Z'Strata
We've been working at a vineyard called ZStrata or Z-Strata, or Z'Strata or Zee-Straghtan or however you spell (I don't speak Kiwi very well so I don't really know what the name is. Some variation of this) for the last 2 days and will be there tomorrow. We've been doing the normal stuff of bunch thinning and setting nets but the weather hasn't been cooperating. Yesterday was probably a high of 15C from a morning that started out with rain and 8C temperatures. It's been cold enough during this week of the end of summer/beginning of fall month that there's snow down to ~1500m (~5000ft). The week before we were enjoying 28-30C days. The older Kiwis I work with have been telling me that I've now experienced all four seasons of the region. It made for a colder and shorter (rained delayed) day of bunch thinning pinot gris. It wasn't unbearable I think because of the location. The vineyard is on the Clutha River in the valley between Wanaka and Cromwell. Most of the wind blows up through the area to the north, but I think we lucked out yesterday.
Keith and I started on our rows doing what we normally do, but it was a lot easier than it normal. The rows we started in were relatively short and the plants were pretty poor. The leaves were showing signs of death around the edges and the amount of fruit was really low. This vineyard was planted in 2003/03 so it should be starting to generate some decent fruit by now. We made our way through a couple of rows chatting about whatnot with an occasional 'these are pretty poor, eh?' from Keith followed by a 'yeah, they look like crap' from me. It's not uncommon for there to be variation going from the macro level to the micro level (as is true for many things)–vineyard-to-vineyard, block-to-block, row-to-row, plant-to-plant–so I didn't think much of it. We continued on, all of us chatting (well I generally don't have a lot to say, unless addressed specifically, as the rest tend to talk about local current events, what was on the tele last night, who lived next to who in Invercargill in 1972 and things of this nature), and Greg and Lynne showing me here and there what powdery mildew looks like.
Then the story of the vineyard's ownership came up in conversation as the entire property is for sale. Long story short, there's a separation of a couple involved and the current separatee owner of the property doesn't seem to want it anymore. I'm listening to this story and looking around and thinking about the possibilities. Remember, right now, the USD doubles the second you step off the plane in NZ. Here's the stats from the real estate signs at the front gate.
- 102.4ha (253acres)
- River front property
- Considered 2 blocks
- 52ha currently planted with 29ha (71acre) of Pinot noir and gris
- 50ha that can be subdivided into six lots (if desired)
- Vineyard comes with implement shed, workshop, pump house and 35million L pond
- Vineyard supposedly ready for production in 2009
- The sign doesn't say this but the 50ha block has a large barren (not much planted) portion leading to the river and the remainder is covered in conifers–from the looks of it, they weren't commercially planted
Z'Strata Real Estate Property Photo. Goes from the river to the tree line on the left, to the tree line in the back, to the division line that runs through the 2 conifer groves on the right.So the guys I'm working with have said the asking price is $3M NZ, but it's been on the market for about a year. When I heard the price, I'm was thinking 'this is a steal!! You could offer $1.75-1.8M and possibly be considered in this market, especially after seeing some of these plants.' I pondered this here and there throughout the rest of the day when I'd take a break to look around at the snow capped mountains while I chewed on grape skins and grape seeds.
Today, we were back there again starting where the Vanuatus (migrant workers, ask me about it later or when I'm back stateside) had left off. Keith and I started on our rows and we were moving pretty quickly because these plants looked like anus. Absolute and utter shit. More and more comments are going back and forth between Keith and I about how awful the plants look, the general neglect that the vineyard is under at the moment, and hypothesizing about how the vineyard got to this state. We all finished off the last of the block we were working in and moved on to another area of pinot gris.
Neglect and who knows what else had hit these plants hard. It became difficult for me to concentrate on what I was doing. All I could think about was how could someone do this? How could someone just throw away money like this? How could someone not care at all about these plants? Granted, I'm thinking about the other side of the equation at the moment–what the potential mindset of the owner must be right now, but at the time all I was thinking about was the plants and the property. I'd go through entire bays (space between the posts of /training wire) and drop almost all the fruit off all the plants. The vines were covered in powdery mildew and it was starting to spread to the fruit. I'd ask myself 'What winemaker would want this fruit?' I was still eating the clean grapes which tasted just fine, but the appearance and size was just horrendous. I just found myself getting more and more annoyed. On top of the general neglect of the plants, I'm noticing the training wire system for the rows. It's noticeable immediately that the posts of this vineyard aren't the standard wooden posts, but instead metal posts with plastic caps. These are a great idea if you intend to get certified organic (wooden posts are treated with arsenic to help with weatherproofing–same problem as the wood in older playgrounds) and the cost is probably a little less considering their either aluminum or some sort of blend. So great idea in theory, but the posts are shite in application. They're not bent or anything, but the rows wobble like an old chain-link fence because the posts just rock back and forth in this dry, alluvial soil.
Maybe it was where we were on the property and the view I had before me that made me so pissed. Maybe it was the properties potential. Maybe it was because this type of property would be something I'd want and someone else is just pissing it away. Whatever it was, I found myself personifying the property. It reminded me of The Giving Tree later on in the day. What really struck me was how pissed I was at the neglect; thinking things like these plants didn't ask for this; this property didn't want to be treated like this; all these plants wanna do is make grapes and they aren't even being given a fair chance. I'd go back and forth from looking at my surroundings and thinking 'it's possible to turn it around' to 'who in the hell would want the burden of trying to turn this around and for the possibility that it'll all be crap after you've poured all your blood, sweat and tears.' I started thinking you'd need 15-20yrs to turn it around (it was planted in 2002/03 and you'd need double the amount of time to properly turn it around. Crazy, right?). How could I make it economical to turn it around? C'mon, these thoughts are just ludicrous, you wouldn't want that stone around your neck! I'll change the name to Veinte Anos, and import about 20 Hispanics over here to help do it (I wouldn't 'import' them. Of course we'd go through the proper channels). Then I'd look at the plants I'm thinning and think, there's no way. It also made me think about the company I'm working for and the time and money they've spent there and what it looks like. Maybe they've signed a contract, but it's obvious that this vineyard was set up poorly and is being managed poorly.
First vintage off the property is gonna be absolute piss. But I'm sure someone will buy it. If not around here, maybe up in the northern wine regions that don't have as many acres of pinot noir and pinot gris planted but want a bottle of it to sell to the consumer. UUUUggggjhhhhh. Serenity now. Serenity now. Serenity now. I'm learning a lot. I'm learning a lot. I'm learning a lot.
By the time we broke for lunch, I was quite disgusted. Thankfully we went off to a much more labor intensive task after lunch so I didn't have to think about it all. I've gotta go back tomorrow to finish on the nets. I'm sure I'll spend a major portion of the day scheming how to make it work then shooting the schemes outta the sky. Oh, right. Tomorrow's Friday the 13th again. Joy.
Here's some regional porn from the last week to make both you and I feel better. Sorry for the language, but I'm a bit sore about it all.
Full moon in Queenstown. Halo means it's going to snow, right?
Cromwell
Sunday Dinner. Pork chops with cherries and basil.
Snow on the way to work on Wednesday
View from one of the hills at Z'Strata Fife. My hosts' new English Springer Spaniel, ~9wks old. Useless except for being cute and peeing on the floor |  Sleeping in my lap while I finish this post |
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Responding to my readers
First, thank you all for reading. Second, thank you for writing comments. Please continue to do both as I continue writing about what I'm seeing, doing, feeling, experiencing, etc. It's much appreciated.
I wanted to take the opportunity to respond to some of your comments here as opposed to in the comments section where they may get lost after the fact.
Kim,
I have thought of cheese making. There is a seminar of sorts with Katherine Mowbray (a Kiwi who has a national following and probably an international following) that I was going to try to go to. Unfortunately, it's in Dunedin and a bit outta my price range at the moment. Another time.
I don't know if I could stay here or not. It's one thing to be in awe of a place when you're on holiday, albeit working holiday, and another to actually live there. Besides, then we'd never see each other.
Catherine and Chad have offered me use of their tent if I ever wanna. However, I have trouble fitting in tents (ask Dave and Sue) so dunno.... Lord Baltimore has been accommodating for my needs thus far.
That's great about the project!! I'd encourage you to set up a blog so we can all follow along too. It's pretty easy to do. I can help you if you want.
E,
Nope, didn't make it to the fudge shop, but I will most definitely before I fly out in June. I'm going to have a little bit of time to wander, how much though I'm not sure. If you have a top 5 places for either/both islands that would be helpful.
Jeff,
I don't think it's a yucca. Remember we had a yucca in the backyard at Catoctin Ave? It wasn't nearly that big and had flowers. Did you know you can eat yucca? I didn't until living it San Francisco. It's great. Consistency is close to potatoes and other starches but the flavor is sweeter. If you ever have a chance to try them, do it.
Pops,
I'm glad you're following along. The Phillie's hat is a fashion accessory, nothing more. Excited about The Rays for this season?
Amy,
Thanks for the post. That'd be really cool if it is a century plant. I still really like thinking it's a big asparagus. Man, what one's pee would smell like after eating a stalk that big. Whoa!
Congratulations on your Carmen role and where it's taking you!! Kim told me about your upcoming adventures. They sound fantastic! When you're ready, please do contact me about any travel/adventure questions you might have. I'm no expert, but I'll do what I can to help. I can put you in touch with some other women travelers who've traveled alone (at least two of which read and comment to this blog) that might be able to offer additional advice I can't–having a Y chromosome kinda prevents my ability to do so. You're gonna find that the world is much smaller and hospitable than you'd ever imagined. For instance, I ran into a guy in Queenstown last night that I shared a cab with in Nicaragua last year. Bizarre. I must warn you though, once you start, it'll be hard to stop.
I'm having a lazy day after being out late enough to see the sun rise–Angela Fisken put on a really good set at debajo in Queenstown which was part of the reason I was out so late. I wasn't thinking about pictures on the way home or I might've taken some of sun-up. There'll be other opportunities I think since I'll be driving in and out of the Kawarau Gorge at early and late hours of the day when work starts at Gibbston Valley Wines. I'm off to pick up some of the last cherries of the season for some pork chops.
Much love
I wanted to take the opportunity to respond to some of your comments here as opposed to in the comments section where they may get lost after the fact.
Kim,
I have thought of cheese making. There is a seminar of sorts with Katherine Mowbray (a Kiwi who has a national following and probably an international following) that I was going to try to go to. Unfortunately, it's in Dunedin and a bit outta my price range at the moment. Another time.
I don't know if I could stay here or not. It's one thing to be in awe of a place when you're on holiday, albeit working holiday, and another to actually live there. Besides, then we'd never see each other.
Catherine and Chad have offered me use of their tent if I ever wanna. However, I have trouble fitting in tents (ask Dave and Sue) so dunno.... Lord Baltimore has been accommodating for my needs thus far.
That's great about the project!! I'd encourage you to set up a blog so we can all follow along too. It's pretty easy to do. I can help you if you want.
E,
Nope, didn't make it to the fudge shop, but I will most definitely before I fly out in June. I'm going to have a little bit of time to wander, how much though I'm not sure. If you have a top 5 places for either/both islands that would be helpful.
Jeff,
I don't think it's a yucca. Remember we had a yucca in the backyard at Catoctin Ave? It wasn't nearly that big and had flowers. Did you know you can eat yucca? I didn't until living it San Francisco. It's great. Consistency is close to potatoes and other starches but the flavor is sweeter. If you ever have a chance to try them, do it.
Pops,
I'm glad you're following along. The Phillie's hat is a fashion accessory, nothing more. Excited about The Rays for this season?
Amy,
Thanks for the post. That'd be really cool if it is a century plant. I still really like thinking it's a big asparagus. Man, what one's pee would smell like after eating a stalk that big. Whoa!
Congratulations on your Carmen role and where it's taking you!! Kim told me about your upcoming adventures. They sound fantastic! When you're ready, please do contact me about any travel/adventure questions you might have. I'm no expert, but I'll do what I can to help. I can put you in touch with some other women travelers who've traveled alone (at least two of which read and comment to this blog) that might be able to offer additional advice I can't–having a Y chromosome kinda prevents my ability to do so. You're gonna find that the world is much smaller and hospitable than you'd ever imagined. For instance, I ran into a guy in Queenstown last night that I shared a cab with in Nicaragua last year. Bizarre. I must warn you though, once you start, it'll be hard to stop.
I'm having a lazy day after being out late enough to see the sun rise–Angela Fisken put on a really good set at debajo in Queenstown which was part of the reason I was out so late. I wasn't thinking about pictures on the way home or I might've taken some of sun-up. There'll be other opportunities I think since I'll be driving in and out of the Kawarau Gorge at early and late hours of the day when work starts at Gibbston Valley Wines. I'm off to pick up some of the last cherries of the season for some pork chops.
Much love
Friday, March 6, 2009
Doo-nay-din
Dunedin is about 3h southeastish from Cromwell. I wish I could say I did it in 2, but there's no way to drive the roads here at much more than what's posted. Nor would you want to really. This drive goes from the rocky (I'm guessing granite) outcropped grey-green hills down to green and straw colored hills.
Dunedin is a seaside town founded by the Scottish immigrants that came to the this area. Once you know this fact, it explains a lot about the South Island–like why there's so many sheep; why most every house has a fenced yard; why a lot of the countryside resembles what I've seen of the British Isles (I've never been so I can't say for certain); why fish n' chips, meat pies, and sausages are standard cuisine; why cricket and rugby are the national sports; and why you'll hear words or phrases like 'bugger', 'bloody', 'half 6' (6:30), 'good as gold', 'how ya goin'?', 'good on ya'.
Dunedin is a Gaelic word for Edinburgh and Dunedin is sometimes called the Edinburgh of the south. Again, I've never been to Scotland, but I'd say it's pretty easy to see why Dunedin was popular with the Scots. It's home to First Church, Cadbury Confectionery Ltd., Speights Brewery, University of Otago and other schools (Dunedin is a college town. Something like 20% of the population are students), the Settler's Museum, the World's Steepest Street (I don't know if this is true as I didn't go to it), the Octagon, and the gateway to Otago Peninsula–home of the Royal Albatross colony, rare yellow-eyed penguins, seals, sea lions, and various other birds. I headed straight to the Botanic Garden. What can I say? I like 'em.
Man do people from the British Isles know how to garden. Gardening must be encoded in their DNA or something. This garden is massive, some 70ha. I was there for about 2h and still didn't see it all. My favorite parts were the South African section and the herbaceous walkway. Seeing the S. African section adds another reason why I want to go there. Some of those plants are nuts.
I was finishing up in the rose garden checking for other roses with interesting names (the one below is called 'Hamburger Phoenix'–which I think is one of the best names ever), minding my own business when an inebriated coed who was walking through with her friends stopped dead in her tracks to talk to me. Seriously. Stopped cold. Yada, yada, yada she's walking me back to the bar from wince she came (she'd lost her roomkey and I needed suggestions for a backpacker/hostel). I haven't been hit on by an 18yr old in a really long time. I know I look young for my age, but damn. It's all good fun though.
When we got to Gardies, I just started laughing at the spectacle that was there before me. It was orientation week in Dunedin which meant a drunken mess from all the students returning with nothing to do but be oriented. Oh did it bring back memories; except we weren't legally allowed out in public at that age–thankfully. I spent a couple of hours there watching the youngins make fools of themselves while I chatted with the bartenders.
From there I went to find a hostel but it was way too late so I ended up in the holiday park where I was gonna sleep in my car. No worries, I'd anticipated and to an extent planned on this prior to leaving Cromwell. The back seat folds down and I brought my sleeping back. There's enough room for me to sleep on the diagonal but it's not anything that I'd wanna do for an extended period of time.
I went back to Gardies to be humored more by the youngins and to flirt with one of the bartenders some more. From Gardies, I walked to the Octagon which is the center of town and also where the majority of the bars are. It had been spitting all day long but now it was starting to rain. Real rain. I stayed out way too late and it being orientation week and raining, there were no cabs at all. This meant I had to walk back to the holiday park (it was probably a mile or so from the Octagon). Absolutely drenched, I crawled into the back of my car and went to sleep. Good times. Good times.
The next day I went to the Cadbury factory for a tour which was somewhat lame. It was the shortened tour so I didn't get to see any of the real action that happens M-F. Cadbury is famous for their cream eggs at Easter in the States, but in much of the rest of the world, especially those having some sort of ties to the British Isles, it's the brand of chocolate. Their claim of specialness is how they make their milk chocolate. The process on paper is pretty interesting (making a crumble out of the milk and chocolate) but again, I didn't get to see it in practice. One of the things that really tripped me out was that they process 20,000L of milk (only from Otago, maybe even Central Otago, I can't remember) a day! They have no storage facility for their milk; it comes in and gets made into their milk chocolate the same day. Crazy. The other thing that's pretty nuts is they have a 5story silo housing a chocolate waterfall. It's not a real pretty thing this waterfall. I think it's pretty gross actually. They drop 1ton of chocolate (which is 8mons old) probably 4 of the 5 stories. It falls for 30s. I asked the guide after it was over why they did that and her answer was essentially because they can, trying to be like Willy Wonka a bit. I wonder what Dahl would think about this.
After this, I went and had some good hangover food at a Japanese restaurant and then stopped in an art boutique. I went in to ask about street parking, but had the pleasant surprise of walking into a space that sold pottery and ceramic pieces. Turns out 12 members of the local potters club/guild/whathaveyou have rented the space to show off their pieces for sale/show/etc. They work in the shop roughly once a week or something. I thought it was pretty clever. Some of the stuff was cool and different and some of the stuff was like the things Kim makes (not that what Kim makes isn't awesome; just not anything she's tried yet I suppose). Kim, I asked for some suggestions for someone just starting out and the general consensus was to just keep at it. The other suggestion was to seek out blogs from other artists to engage yourself into the community. I'm sure you know this already, but there you go.
Then I walked around a fair bit more. Saw First Church. Saw the public art museum. There was a very intense exhibit from a NZ woman who had breast cancer. The theme of her exhibit was about her time being treated in the hospital for cancer. It was well done. Skipped the Settler's Museum, Speights Brewery, the World's Steepest Street, and unfortunately the Otago Peninsula. I went up to the Signal Hill Overlook then bounced. One really needs much more time than 24h in Dunedin and the surrounding area. I'd say 5d would do it justice; 7d if you really wanna take your time and see everything. I'd go back, preferably in better weather.
Peace fam. Stay frosty.
Dunedin from Signal Hill Overlook
The largest asparagus I've ever seen. In the Mexican plants section. I don't know what it is really. Couldn't find the label.
Fynbos S. African section. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fynbos
S. African section
S. African section
More Fynbos
Fynbos up close
See what I mean? They just know how to garden.
Hamburger Phoenix
Me and Emma–18 years old
Dunedin Train Station from near the Octagon.
Cadbury chocolate waterfall
Cadbury factory
Seafood Udon. Perfect hangover cure esp. on a rainy day
First Church
On the road between Alexandra and Roxburgh on the way home
Dunedin is a seaside town founded by the Scottish immigrants that came to the this area. Once you know this fact, it explains a lot about the South Island–like why there's so many sheep; why most every house has a fenced yard; why a lot of the countryside resembles what I've seen of the British Isles (I've never been so I can't say for certain); why fish n' chips, meat pies, and sausages are standard cuisine; why cricket and rugby are the national sports; and why you'll hear words or phrases like 'bugger', 'bloody', 'half 6' (6:30), 'good as gold', 'how ya goin'?', 'good on ya'.
Dunedin is a Gaelic word for Edinburgh and Dunedin is sometimes called the Edinburgh of the south. Again, I've never been to Scotland, but I'd say it's pretty easy to see why Dunedin was popular with the Scots. It's home to First Church, Cadbury Confectionery Ltd., Speights Brewery, University of Otago and other schools (Dunedin is a college town. Something like 20% of the population are students), the Settler's Museum, the World's Steepest Street (I don't know if this is true as I didn't go to it), the Octagon, and the gateway to Otago Peninsula–home of the Royal Albatross colony, rare yellow-eyed penguins, seals, sea lions, and various other birds. I headed straight to the Botanic Garden. What can I say? I like 'em.
Man do people from the British Isles know how to garden. Gardening must be encoded in their DNA or something. This garden is massive, some 70ha. I was there for about 2h and still didn't see it all. My favorite parts were the South African section and the herbaceous walkway. Seeing the S. African section adds another reason why I want to go there. Some of those plants are nuts.
I was finishing up in the rose garden checking for other roses with interesting names (the one below is called 'Hamburger Phoenix'–which I think is one of the best names ever), minding my own business when an inebriated coed who was walking through with her friends stopped dead in her tracks to talk to me. Seriously. Stopped cold. Yada, yada, yada she's walking me back to the bar from wince she came (she'd lost her roomkey and I needed suggestions for a backpacker/hostel). I haven't been hit on by an 18yr old in a really long time. I know I look young for my age, but damn. It's all good fun though.
When we got to Gardies, I just started laughing at the spectacle that was there before me. It was orientation week in Dunedin which meant a drunken mess from all the students returning with nothing to do but be oriented. Oh did it bring back memories; except we weren't legally allowed out in public at that age–thankfully. I spent a couple of hours there watching the youngins make fools of themselves while I chatted with the bartenders.
From there I went to find a hostel but it was way too late so I ended up in the holiday park where I was gonna sleep in my car. No worries, I'd anticipated and to an extent planned on this prior to leaving Cromwell. The back seat folds down and I brought my sleeping back. There's enough room for me to sleep on the diagonal but it's not anything that I'd wanna do for an extended period of time.
I went back to Gardies to be humored more by the youngins and to flirt with one of the bartenders some more. From Gardies, I walked to the Octagon which is the center of town and also where the majority of the bars are. It had been spitting all day long but now it was starting to rain. Real rain. I stayed out way too late and it being orientation week and raining, there were no cabs at all. This meant I had to walk back to the holiday park (it was probably a mile or so from the Octagon). Absolutely drenched, I crawled into the back of my car and went to sleep. Good times. Good times.
The next day I went to the Cadbury factory for a tour which was somewhat lame. It was the shortened tour so I didn't get to see any of the real action that happens M-F. Cadbury is famous for their cream eggs at Easter in the States, but in much of the rest of the world, especially those having some sort of ties to the British Isles, it's the brand of chocolate. Their claim of specialness is how they make their milk chocolate. The process on paper is pretty interesting (making a crumble out of the milk and chocolate) but again, I didn't get to see it in practice. One of the things that really tripped me out was that they process 20,000L of milk (only from Otago, maybe even Central Otago, I can't remember) a day! They have no storage facility for their milk; it comes in and gets made into their milk chocolate the same day. Crazy. The other thing that's pretty nuts is they have a 5story silo housing a chocolate waterfall. It's not a real pretty thing this waterfall. I think it's pretty gross actually. They drop 1ton of chocolate (which is 8mons old) probably 4 of the 5 stories. It falls for 30s. I asked the guide after it was over why they did that and her answer was essentially because they can, trying to be like Willy Wonka a bit. I wonder what Dahl would think about this.
After this, I went and had some good hangover food at a Japanese restaurant and then stopped in an art boutique. I went in to ask about street parking, but had the pleasant surprise of walking into a space that sold pottery and ceramic pieces. Turns out 12 members of the local potters club/guild/whathaveyou have rented the space to show off their pieces for sale/show/etc. They work in the shop roughly once a week or something. I thought it was pretty clever. Some of the stuff was cool and different and some of the stuff was like the things Kim makes (not that what Kim makes isn't awesome; just not anything she's tried yet I suppose). Kim, I asked for some suggestions for someone just starting out and the general consensus was to just keep at it. The other suggestion was to seek out blogs from other artists to engage yourself into the community. I'm sure you know this already, but there you go.
Then I walked around a fair bit more. Saw First Church. Saw the public art museum. There was a very intense exhibit from a NZ woman who had breast cancer. The theme of her exhibit was about her time being treated in the hospital for cancer. It was well done. Skipped the Settler's Museum, Speights Brewery, the World's Steepest Street, and unfortunately the Otago Peninsula. I went up to the Signal Hill Overlook then bounced. One really needs much more time than 24h in Dunedin and the surrounding area. I'd say 5d would do it justice; 7d if you really wanna take your time and see everything. I'd go back, preferably in better weather.
Peace fam. Stay frosty.
Dunedin from Signal Hill Overlook
 One of the indigenous plants of New Zealand |  Close Up |
The largest asparagus I've ever seen. In the Mexican plants section. I don't know what it is really. Couldn't find the label.
Fynbos S. African section. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fynbos
S. African section
S. African section
More Fynbos
Fynbos up close
See what I mean? They just know how to garden.
Hamburger Phoenix
Me and Emma–18 years old
Dunedin Train Station from near the Octagon.
Cadbury chocolate waterfall
Cadbury factory
Seafood Udon. Perfect hangover cure esp. on a rainy day Potter's Collective |  |
First Church
On the road between Alexandra and Roxburgh on the way homeThursday, March 5, 2009
Pissed Stars
This past Friday was an interesting afternoon. I decided after my first full weekend here in which it rainded the entire time, that I wasn't gonna hang out in Pisa Moorings on the weekends while I still have free time before harvest starts. I needed that first weekend to catch my breath and have a look at what I'd come through though, so it was a great weekend.
Thursday rolls around and I'm finalizing plans for the weekend (ie, deciding where to go and the logistics of getting there) and thinking about what Friday should look like. Friday was looking good so I made my lunch and went to bed.
End of work on Friday I'm zoning out. The plans I'd envisioned started being replaced with thoughts of swimming in the lake after working out or having beers and chillin'. Discipline came back around and I started on the plans I had for after work. These included getting the rest of the ingredients for the rhubarb and peach crisp, checking out the laundromat w/ WiFi, laundry, working out, deciding how I was getting to Dunedin, packing and cleaning up. If time allowed, which it should've since I'm usually home by 4-415pm, I'd go have some beers in Cromwell and see if Fridays are more happening than Sundays.
Home by 430 with the stuff for the crisp. Plan was to start the laundry then start the crisp.
WTF?!?! What's up with this washing machine? Why won't it fill? (my hosts were gone all weekend). Ok. No hot water wash. Hope this detergent and stain stick work on my whites. Hmm...how many grams are in a half a cup? Eff it. I used to wing it in the lab...Why isn't the wash machine spinning and draining? Ugghh. How 'bout the Drip Dry setting? That filling is way too wet and why does the silicone baking dish smell funny? Whatever. Ohh, shit. These close are still completely wet. Guess I'm doing the spin by hand. Man that dish smells funny...That crisp doesn't look right. Doesn't taste right either. What time is... 7pm?!?! Of course.
I went to work out thinking I could still get everything done and be at the bar by 10-1030. Uh, no. Dinner took longer than it should've and so did finding the bus schedule from Cromwell to Dunedin. 11pm rolls around and I was feelin' pretty jaded and cynical. It was more than the stops and starts but I couldn't figure out what. After sorting it out with my book, I realized I'm trying to do too much. I'm not just talking about these events, I've got back burners going, new burners starting as well as the front burners that are on. I was feelin' pretty pissed about it all and thinking of turning off my brain with the help of the idiot box. Instead, I took a second helping of crisp out on to the back deck since it was still nice out. It gets pretty dark out since there's just some subdivision street lamps.
All the lights off inside, I stepped out onto the deck and looked up. Thousands of little specks of light were shining back at me, some of them twinkling.
I just started smiling. Everything else melted away. Everything that was annoying me and pissing me off just dissipated through my feet onto the deck, dripping through the slats. I sat down in one of the chairs and ate my less than planned crisp and felt insignificant.
I've seen night in the southern hemisphere before, but I don't remember it like this–maybe b/c I was in the south western hemisphere before. I was trying to remember how the stars move around and the stellar map I had as a kid but couldn't recognize anything. Well, the Milky Way. But it's not Orion's Belt is it? It's pretty bizarre not seeing either dipper. I just sat there. Eating crisp and chuckling to myself. This was one of those moments for me that no one else would see. Then I decided I needed to get away from the lights of the subdivision so I finished my crisp and set off for the bluff in Pisa Moorings on Lake Dunstan. PM's lights would still be visible but not in direct view...An aside here–there's a great article in one of the last year or two of Nat. Geographic about light pollution. Some area of the US has designated itself as something like a light free landmark so night viewing can be protected. It also said something about parts of Africa being some of the only parts of the inhabited world where light pollution hasn't affected looking at the night's sky.
So I ventured off for the bluff. As I left the house, at around 1145-midnight, the night temp was still high enough that I could wear shorts and a t-shirt (it is summer after all) and immediately I was 8 or 9 yrs old again. Summertime back on Catoctin Ave. Catching fireflies. Mom calling bats with pruning shears. Crickets, cicadas and other insects all talking to their peeps. Temperatures becoming tolerable with warm breezes. Lying in bed with every window in the house opened (they were all screened). Watching the moths bouncing off the streetlamp outside my window while trying to fall asleep. The smell of cool, damp MD humidity. It all came back as I walked eastward toward the bluff. Funny how memory pathways get triggered.
In my line of sight was a patch of stars that looked like the remnants of one of those dripping fireworks; like someone had spattered paint on a canvas. I don't ever remember seeing stars look like this.
On the bluff, I laid on my back for awhile looking for satellites and shooting stars, listening to the trees rustle and the birds and ducks talking. With the Milky Way looking back at me, I began to wonder if my camera could catch any of what I was looking at. After fiddling for a bit, I had a eureka moment and began capturing images like the ones below. I did this for a while longer before I decided sleep would be necessary to even come close to leaving for Dunedin when I wanted to. So I walked back and went to bed, no longer afflicted with the thoughts from earlier that evening.
Here are 2 of the images I caught. Guess it's not so much a moment just for me, but I don't mind sharing this.
The Milky Way is in the bottom left corner
Milky Way in the bottom right corner
Peace fam. Stay frosty
Thursday rolls around and I'm finalizing plans for the weekend (ie, deciding where to go and the logistics of getting there) and thinking about what Friday should look like. Friday was looking good so I made my lunch and went to bed.
End of work on Friday I'm zoning out. The plans I'd envisioned started being replaced with thoughts of swimming in the lake after working out or having beers and chillin'. Discipline came back around and I started on the plans I had for after work. These included getting the rest of the ingredients for the rhubarb and peach crisp, checking out the laundromat w/ WiFi, laundry, working out, deciding how I was getting to Dunedin, packing and cleaning up. If time allowed, which it should've since I'm usually home by 4-415pm, I'd go have some beers in Cromwell and see if Fridays are more happening than Sundays.
Home by 430 with the stuff for the crisp. Plan was to start the laundry then start the crisp.
WTF?!?! What's up with this washing machine? Why won't it fill? (my hosts were gone all weekend). Ok. No hot water wash. Hope this detergent and stain stick work on my whites. Hmm...how many grams are in a half a cup? Eff it. I used to wing it in the lab...Why isn't the wash machine spinning and draining? Ugghh. How 'bout the Drip Dry setting? That filling is way too wet and why does the silicone baking dish smell funny? Whatever. Ohh, shit. These close are still completely wet. Guess I'm doing the spin by hand. Man that dish smells funny...That crisp doesn't look right. Doesn't taste right either. What time is... 7pm?!?! Of course.
I went to work out thinking I could still get everything done and be at the bar by 10-1030. Uh, no. Dinner took longer than it should've and so did finding the bus schedule from Cromwell to Dunedin. 11pm rolls around and I was feelin' pretty jaded and cynical. It was more than the stops and starts but I couldn't figure out what. After sorting it out with my book, I realized I'm trying to do too much. I'm not just talking about these events, I've got back burners going, new burners starting as well as the front burners that are on. I was feelin' pretty pissed about it all and thinking of turning off my brain with the help of the idiot box. Instead, I took a second helping of crisp out on to the back deck since it was still nice out. It gets pretty dark out since there's just some subdivision street lamps.
All the lights off inside, I stepped out onto the deck and looked up. Thousands of little specks of light were shining back at me, some of them twinkling.
HOLY EFF.
I just started smiling. Everything else melted away. Everything that was annoying me and pissing me off just dissipated through my feet onto the deck, dripping through the slats. I sat down in one of the chairs and ate my less than planned crisp and felt insignificant.
I've seen night in the southern hemisphere before, but I don't remember it like this–maybe b/c I was in the south western hemisphere before. I was trying to remember how the stars move around and the stellar map I had as a kid but couldn't recognize anything. Well, the Milky Way. But it's not Orion's Belt is it? It's pretty bizarre not seeing either dipper. I just sat there. Eating crisp and chuckling to myself. This was one of those moments for me that no one else would see. Then I decided I needed to get away from the lights of the subdivision so I finished my crisp and set off for the bluff in Pisa Moorings on Lake Dunstan. PM's lights would still be visible but not in direct view...An aside here–there's a great article in one of the last year or two of Nat. Geographic about light pollution. Some area of the US has designated itself as something like a light free landmark so night viewing can be protected. It also said something about parts of Africa being some of the only parts of the inhabited world where light pollution hasn't affected looking at the night's sky.
So I ventured off for the bluff. As I left the house, at around 1145-midnight, the night temp was still high enough that I could wear shorts and a t-shirt (it is summer after all) and immediately I was 8 or 9 yrs old again. Summertime back on Catoctin Ave. Catching fireflies. Mom calling bats with pruning shears. Crickets, cicadas and other insects all talking to their peeps. Temperatures becoming tolerable with warm breezes. Lying in bed with every window in the house opened (they were all screened). Watching the moths bouncing off the streetlamp outside my window while trying to fall asleep. The smell of cool, damp MD humidity. It all came back as I walked eastward toward the bluff. Funny how memory pathways get triggered.
In my line of sight was a patch of stars that looked like the remnants of one of those dripping fireworks; like someone had spattered paint on a canvas. I don't ever remember seeing stars look like this.
On the bluff, I laid on my back for awhile looking for satellites and shooting stars, listening to the trees rustle and the birds and ducks talking. With the Milky Way looking back at me, I began to wonder if my camera could catch any of what I was looking at. After fiddling for a bit, I had a eureka moment and began capturing images like the ones below. I did this for a while longer before I decided sleep would be necessary to even come close to leaving for Dunedin when I wanted to. So I walked back and went to bed, no longer afflicted with the thoughts from earlier that evening.
Here are 2 of the images I caught. Guess it's not so much a moment just for me, but I don't mind sharing this.
The Milky Way is in the bottom left corner
Milky Way in the bottom right cornerPeace fam. Stay frosty
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Work and Life in Central Otago
Hmmm... Where to start all these promised posts? I think this one will be about work and my daily life here in Central Otago. I almost worked a full week last week. 3.5/5 days. It was because of the rain. For an area that averages around 500mm of rain a year (~19.5in for all you nonmetrics. McMinnville, OR where I was last living gets ~42in/yr in comparison), it's rained a lot. Locals have been saying it hadn't rained for 4d since 2000 and there was flooding. On top of this, the summer hasn't been summer here from what everyone says.
When it rains, I don't work. If it's raining when I get up at 545am, I keep my mobile close in anticipation of a text message from my supervisor telling me I'm on standby. For the 2d I didn't work at all I was on standby from about 615am until 115pm. Yes. It blows. But that's farm work I suppose. It makes me laugh because even with the precipitation we've been having (nothing torrential–just like I described before), Hispanics would still be sent out. I'm on course to work a full week this week, but rain is predicted for Friday.
Last week, when I did work, I was out in the vineyards at 7am. This week we've been starting at 730am to have more light.
I hear this all day long. We're dropping fruit, aka bunch thinning. We start at one end of a row and work our way to the other. The rows are massive. Some definitely longer than a football field. So far I've worked on Pinot noir, Riesling and this week Pinot Gris vines. The method of thinning hasn't been the same for each varietal. I'm not sure if it's due to the varietal or the desired crop for that varietal. These may actually be one in the same.
I work for Grape Vision who is owned by the Dicey family...well I should say 'is operated by the Dicey family.' There may be shareholders involved. It's a vineyard management and development company in Central Otago. They manage something like 45-50 vineyards in Central. Roughly 20-25 of these vineyards are for the winery, Mt. Difficulty, which is also owned/operated by the Diceys. The remainder are random owners or investor groups that either make wine from their grapes or sell their grapes to someone else. Robin Dicey (the until recently head hancho) came over to NZ from South Africa in 1977 and did various orchard and vineyard related things until he came to Central in 1992 (in 1996 there were only 92 hectares planted in Central vs. 1062 planted up through 2004. Robin was an integral part in starting many of these new vineyards). His sons James and Matt run the vineyard operations and make the wine for Mt. Difficulty, respectively. I was in contact with James prior to coming over and his offer for work was basically the green light I needed to have faith in putting the rest of this entire adventure in motion.
Last week work started at 7 and went 'til 315pm (now 730-345) with lunch and one "smoko" (break where everyone drinks tea, maybe coffee. Dunno. They all come with their thermoses and folding chairs and we break for 15min). My team of about 7-12 is mostly semi-retireds with travelers mixed in. Snip. Thud. Snip. Thud. All day with conversations mixed in.
Initially, while I was concentrating on getting the right snips down, my speed was pretty bad. It's still not great, but I'm keeping up. I didn't think much of it at first, but then Lynne's (my supervisor) 3 bosses came around one day to check on her (meaning our progress). It quickly dawned on me that while I'm out there amongst the vines having moments of reflection, contemplation, zen; snipping and tanning; that there's still an s–load of work to be done. The process quickly became evident. The rows get machine trimmed; then the bunch thinning; followed by setting nets (birds are a problem for vineyards and orchards in New Zealand so nets are set up to prevent the birds from getting to the fruit while it ripens. The effectiveness is debatable depending on the type of nets set). I've had a day of setting nets now, which is a job completely dependent on the quality of nets (uh... hay bailing nets only to be used one season, now on their 4th or 5th season make for a lot of stops and starts). I could go all into the process I did last Thursday but I've got other things to cover. Let's just say it's better than bottling.
After nets, the grapes ripen until harvest begins. Since the varietals will generally ripen at different rates (however slight). We move around a bit, especially since there's so much to do. I have no idea of the size of the 4 vineyards I've worked in but they seem massive. The Target Gully Vineyard off of Felton Rd takes about 3-5min to walk from one end to the other. It amazes me everytime I see it. What's funny is when I come across a varietal that's not supposed to be there, like Savigon blanc in Pinot noir. Man, does the capsicum come through on those grapes!
It's quite a juxtaposition growing plants for commercial purposes. At the end of the day, it's still about money. I try not to think about that but instead about Matt, Mt. D's winemaker and giving him the best materials to do his job. I think about the vine who I'm stressing out so it keeps putting all it's best effort in the fruit that gets left behind. I find myself wondering if plants/vines have short attention spans like goldfish. Do they forget what happens to them from one season to the next? One year to the next? I think about the smaller bunches that I leave behind because they look great and I want them to grow as well as they can. Then I stop and look around. I smell sunscreen and dirt that cover my exposed skin. I smell the vines and grapes (they have distinct smell) and I watch the clouds move around over the hilltops through the pristine blue sky. And I smile.
Don't get me wrong, it's not all lollipops and rainbows. I'm still bustin' my ass. Like James said, there's plenty of work to do. Also, I spend the majority of my day at half my height from either bending at the waste or squatting. My boots suck too and are killing my knees. I have a new found respect for B's soreness from the vineyard. Respect.
After work, I either run errands or go to a local winery to try their wines. Sometimes I drive around looking for places to go swimming but usually don't because it's too windy or I think about something else I should be doing. Then I go back to Chad and Catherine's (my hosts in Cromwell.... Oh yeah, Cromwell is an old gold mining town turned suburbish I suppose. Something like 3000 people live here. It's pretty sleepy and family oriented. Maybe Brunswick, MD is an equivalent??) house in Pisa Moorings (a subdivision about 10km from Cromwell center) where I run through some sort of modified CrossFit workout. Then I eat, shower and repeat the day over. I've been playing touch rugby (uh, that's a story in of itself) with Chad and Catherine's team on Wednesdays but that'll end next week. It's been pretty ho hum during the week and I don't foresee it changing. I'll do this until just before harvest starts at Gibbston Valley Wines where I'll be working for harvest. Enjoy the photos. Make sure you click on the last 2 so you can better see the pictures. I see a lot of images like them on a daily basis.
Sunrise on the way to work
Pinot noir grapes at BBC Vineyard
Ripening Target Gully Vineyard Riesling Grapes
Pinot gris grapes from McKinley's Vineyard
Me in pre–lunch attire at McKinley's Vineyard. I strip off layers for better or worse.
McKinley's Vineyard
Wanaka Road while I was looking for swimming holes
When it rains, I don't work. If it's raining when I get up at 545am, I keep my mobile close in anticipation of a text message from my supervisor telling me I'm on standby. For the 2d I didn't work at all I was on standby from about 615am until 115pm. Yes. It blows. But that's farm work I suppose. It makes me laugh because even with the precipitation we've been having (nothing torrential–just like I described before), Hispanics would still be sent out. I'm on course to work a full week this week, but rain is predicted for Friday.
Last week, when I did work, I was out in the vineyards at 7am. This week we've been starting at 730am to have more light.
Snip. Thud. Snip. Snip. Thud. Thud. Snip. Thud.
I hear this all day long. We're dropping fruit, aka bunch thinning. We start at one end of a row and work our way to the other. The rows are massive. Some definitely longer than a football field. So far I've worked on Pinot noir, Riesling and this week Pinot Gris vines. The method of thinning hasn't been the same for each varietal. I'm not sure if it's due to the varietal or the desired crop for that varietal. These may actually be one in the same.
I work for Grape Vision who is owned by the Dicey family...well I should say 'is operated by the Dicey family.' There may be shareholders involved. It's a vineyard management and development company in Central Otago. They manage something like 45-50 vineyards in Central. Roughly 20-25 of these vineyards are for the winery, Mt. Difficulty, which is also owned/operated by the Diceys. The remainder are random owners or investor groups that either make wine from their grapes or sell their grapes to someone else. Robin Dicey (the until recently head hancho) came over to NZ from South Africa in 1977 and did various orchard and vineyard related things until he came to Central in 1992 (in 1996 there were only 92 hectares planted in Central vs. 1062 planted up through 2004. Robin was an integral part in starting many of these new vineyards). His sons James and Matt run the vineyard operations and make the wine for Mt. Difficulty, respectively. I was in contact with James prior to coming over and his offer for work was basically the green light I needed to have faith in putting the rest of this entire adventure in motion.
Last week work started at 7 and went 'til 315pm (now 730-345) with lunch and one "smoko" (break where everyone drinks tea, maybe coffee. Dunno. They all come with their thermoses and folding chairs and we break for 15min). My team of about 7-12 is mostly semi-retireds with travelers mixed in. Snip. Thud. Snip. Thud. All day with conversations mixed in.
Initially, while I was concentrating on getting the right snips down, my speed was pretty bad. It's still not great, but I'm keeping up. I didn't think much of it at first, but then Lynne's (my supervisor) 3 bosses came around one day to check on her (meaning our progress). It quickly dawned on me that while I'm out there amongst the vines having moments of reflection, contemplation, zen; snipping and tanning; that there's still an s–load of work to be done. The process quickly became evident. The rows get machine trimmed; then the bunch thinning; followed by setting nets (birds are a problem for vineyards and orchards in New Zealand so nets are set up to prevent the birds from getting to the fruit while it ripens. The effectiveness is debatable depending on the type of nets set). I've had a day of setting nets now, which is a job completely dependent on the quality of nets (uh... hay bailing nets only to be used one season, now on their 4th or 5th season make for a lot of stops and starts). I could go all into the process I did last Thursday but I've got other things to cover. Let's just say it's better than bottling.
After nets, the grapes ripen until harvest begins. Since the varietals will generally ripen at different rates (however slight). We move around a bit, especially since there's so much to do. I have no idea of the size of the 4 vineyards I've worked in but they seem massive. The Target Gully Vineyard off of Felton Rd takes about 3-5min to walk from one end to the other. It amazes me everytime I see it. What's funny is when I come across a varietal that's not supposed to be there, like Savigon blanc in Pinot noir. Man, does the capsicum come through on those grapes!
It's quite a juxtaposition growing plants for commercial purposes. At the end of the day, it's still about money. I try not to think about that but instead about Matt, Mt. D's winemaker and giving him the best materials to do his job. I think about the vine who I'm stressing out so it keeps putting all it's best effort in the fruit that gets left behind. I find myself wondering if plants/vines have short attention spans like goldfish. Do they forget what happens to them from one season to the next? One year to the next? I think about the smaller bunches that I leave behind because they look great and I want them to grow as well as they can. Then I stop and look around. I smell sunscreen and dirt that cover my exposed skin. I smell the vines and grapes (they have distinct smell) and I watch the clouds move around over the hilltops through the pristine blue sky. And I smile.
Don't get me wrong, it's not all lollipops and rainbows. I'm still bustin' my ass. Like James said, there's plenty of work to do. Also, I spend the majority of my day at half my height from either bending at the waste or squatting. My boots suck too and are killing my knees. I have a new found respect for B's soreness from the vineyard. Respect.
After work, I either run errands or go to a local winery to try their wines. Sometimes I drive around looking for places to go swimming but usually don't because it's too windy or I think about something else I should be doing. Then I go back to Chad and Catherine's (my hosts in Cromwell.... Oh yeah, Cromwell is an old gold mining town turned suburbish I suppose. Something like 3000 people live here. It's pretty sleepy and family oriented. Maybe Brunswick, MD is an equivalent??) house in Pisa Moorings (a subdivision about 10km from Cromwell center) where I run through some sort of modified CrossFit workout. Then I eat, shower and repeat the day over. I've been playing touch rugby (uh, that's a story in of itself) with Chad and Catherine's team on Wednesdays but that'll end next week. It's been pretty ho hum during the week and I don't foresee it changing. I'll do this until just before harvest starts at Gibbston Valley Wines where I'll be working for harvest. Enjoy the photos. Make sure you click on the last 2 so you can better see the pictures. I see a lot of images like them on a daily basis.
Sunrise on the way to work
Pinot noir grapes at BBC Vineyard
Ripening Target Gully Vineyard Riesling Grapes
Pinot gris grapes from McKinley's Vineyard
Me in pre–lunch attire at McKinley's Vineyard. I strip off layers for better or worse.McKinley's VineyardWanaka Road while I was looking for swimming holesMonday, March 2, 2009
Pardon my tardiness
I know you all are waiting with baited breath for my next post but you'll hav'ta wait a little bit longer. Work, the limited availability of internet access, and deciding what to write about have delayed my posts. There should be 2–4 in the coming days so keep checking.... Um, I think you can actually set it up so you're updated as to when I post something. I think it's a RSS feed or something. If someone who's reading this blog knows more about it could post a how-to in the comments section, that would be rad. I may have to do something on my end but I can't figure it out right now.
I didn't realize I set the comments setting so you'd hav'ta register with Google in order to comment. I changed it. Mom (and everyone else), you can now comment without an account. I do ask that if/when you do comment that you comment with the "Name/URL" option (URL is a webpage address and is optional. If you want people to look at your webpage, you'd post a URL). Anonymous is cool I suppose, but I'd rather you leave your name too if you go that route.
Peace fam. Stay frosty
I didn't realize I set the comments setting so you'd hav'ta register with Google in order to comment. I changed it. Mom (and everyone else), you can now comment without an account. I do ask that if/when you do comment that you comment with the "Name/URL" option (URL is a webpage address and is optional. If you want people to look at your webpage, you'd post a URL). Anonymous is cool I suppose, but I'd rather you leave your name too if you go that route.
Peace fam. Stay frosty
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