Harvest in Spain

 

Sunrise in Navarra
Harvest is that magical time when the grapes are plump and ready to be taken off the vine, a wonderful period of the year when the air is humming with possibilities. Right? It's also a mad dash that goes on almost all day and night, when a year's preparations are focused into a 2-4 week period.

 

Vineyards awaiting the pickers
As in most parts of France, Spain had a fantastic year. 2009 is shaping up to be a very good year in many places, but we won't know for a while. In the meantime, the grapes came in clean and plump, as these pics show.

 

Back to work!
To give you an idea of what it looks like, here are a series of pictures from my winemaker Txus Macias in Navarra. Harvest here is a family and friends affair, with everyone pitching in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, at the end of the day, it's time to break bread and pop corks and enjoy the fruit of your labor, basking in the glow of a day's work and the warmth of your friends. But isn't that wine is all about? It's not about points, or what's supposed to be the "right wine", but about sharing good times with good friends and family, and realizing that these are the most important, and sometimes ephemeral, things in life.
Cheers!