Rowanston on the Track

Working in the Bush

Where to begin? Well, Mark and I are staying with the fabulous John and Marilyn Frederickson. Their home and vineyard is about an hour north of Melbourne and Mark is here for work. I myself am here on holiday. However . . . I am working as well. And having a rather enjoyable time too! But I will say that all work and no play makes Kaila a dull boy . . . I mean girl. While I enjoy manual labor I am not used to it, nor fit for it at this time (all of the indulging over the rest of our travels made me quite the fatty patty). But with the work comes some play too and I can’t complain about anything. Okay, so let’s see if I can remember what has passed in the last week and a half.

We arrived in the middle of the Syrah harvesting, or Shiraz rather. While we knew that we would have to jump into immediate processing and other activities, we were ready for the luxury of sleeping in the same bed for an extended period of time. While traveling all over the place is fun, living out of a suitcase is exhausting. So, excited to have a home base, we began vintage.

Unfortunately, sweat quickly doused my enthusiasm. The first day we were here we working in the winery in the morning and then, just in time for the afternoon heat, we headed out to help pick. While I enjoyed being outside, the sun was too hot and my Dave’s syndrome kicked in (for those of you not familiar with Black Books it is the inability to cope with the heat). I struggled to say the least but soon I realized that life wasn’t so bad and that I was in Australia doing a harvest! So, after some trials and tribulations I toughened up.

The days all seem to blend together. I have lost all sense of time but you know what they say, time flies when you’re having fun! And while the work has been never ending the times we are having are wonderful! This place is certainly special! I just picked a lemon off of the tree outside for my gin and tonic and am eating fresh figs from the front yard too. Every night we get to eat delicious home cooked meals and enjoy some beautiful company.

The second day we pulled in the rest of the Syrah, processed it, put it in a huge open fermenter and kept going. Working in the winery keeps us busy all morning and evening (getting samples is not that exhilarating). A couple days later we picked the Merlot, and then the Sauv Blanc. The first day of picking, when Dave’s syndrome hit, was anything but fun. However, the Merlot was rather enjoyable to pick because the weather cooled and the clouds sheltered. I also had the opportunity to meet some lovely fellow pickers (although I didn’t practice my French because I am too shy). Anyhow, Mark has been running a tight ship (and working his arse off) and all of a sudden a week had passed and I completely exhausted myself. Working all day everyday was not what my body was ready for. So, I had to take an afternoon off and try to recoup. However, all was soon well again and we moved right along.