I haven’t been able to write very much in recent weeks
because harvest has hit us like a team of rugby players might if we were
carrying an oblong shaped object.
Fortunately, I have had one and a half days off in the last 3 weeks, but
all of my time off is spent partying with my co-workers so I don’t get much of
a chance to enlighten my dedicated readers.
Well here it is.
A typical day of work lasts for about 14 hours, which is no
different from other harvests that I’ve worked, but the big difference is that
we take so many breaks! We get to work
at 7:30 AM and work for a few hours and then have our mid-morning break with
catered breakfast and coffee (we have our own personal cook who provides food
for every break). Then we work for a few
more hours and take an hour lunch. A few
hours later, it is Beer O’clock with some afternoon munchies. If we are working late, we have dinner with
several wines that we blind taste (This is where you try to guess what kind of
wine it is you are tasting). We get home
at 10 PM, take a much needed shower, and go to bed only to wake up in 8 hours
to do it again. It’s a pretty sweet
deal. Lots of work, but lots of play
too; That is the Kiwi way.
The whole staff, including us interns, are included in every
aspect of the winery. We get to do
blending trials and give our input, and last week we did a full out white
burgundy tasting (chardonnay) next to a vertical of our chardonnay (5
consecutive years). Once again, this is
a totally opposite work environment from my last winery. It fascinates me to see different winemaking
techniques and witness that they can all make good wines (My last winery was
very anal winemaking and this winery is extremely relaxed).
Outside of winery life, the island life is also incredible. We’ve gone swimming at 15 different beaches
thus far, and fishing at 3 (We have fresh snapper at least once a week). The views are epic on every hill, and I won’t
even start in on sunrises and sunsets.
We are quite secluded out on our end of the island, so naturally there
are very few women for me to use the Hinschberger charm on, but I suppose it is
for the best since my harvest mustache makes me look like a creepy Burt
Reynolds from the 80’s.
Anyway, Hope you’re having a wonderful day.
Cheers from NZ.
Paully
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| One of those sunrises that I mentioned |
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| This is actually a beach on the mainland called Piha |
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| Our break room, and Oscar the dog |
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| Cameron and Bryony filling the press |
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| The winery with two presses and a forklift |
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| Enjoying a beer on the beach, through the perspective of Cameron's glasses |
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