Getting Ready for Harvest
Harvest may still be a few weeks away, but around the ranch we’re already getting ready. This is the time of year when I start looking at everything we’ll need once the grapes begin coming in. We’re cleaning and organizing the cellar, checking equipment, getting bins ready and making sure everything is where it needs to be. There’s always something that needs attention, and it’s much easier to find it now than when you have a load of grapes waiting for you.
Of course, we have a pretty good idea when harvest will begin, but the vineyard ultimately makes that decision. As we get closer, I’ll spend more time walking the rows, tasting the fruit and watching how things are progressing. There’s a little anticipation in the air because once we decide it’s time to pick, everything changes pretty quickly. For now, we’re getting the ranch ready, keeping an eye on the vineyard and enjoying that little bit of calm before harvest gets underway.
Dan Martin manning the tractor
