A handfull of grapes from one stem on the vine.
Even after all of the physical conditioning from the previous week, groans could be heard as we arrived at the farm early Tuesday morning. We were nearly as sore as we had been after our first two days of harvest the week before.
We remembered Lou's words as we quickly fell into a steady clipping rhythm, handling our secateurs with the skill of pros (well most of the time). We snipped bunches of Grenache grapes from vines over 70 years old, which were often too large to fit into one hand. An occasional taste revealed a rich, sweet flavor which would eventually make its way into Domaine Rouge-Bleu's Mistral wine.
Normally we lost track of time as we worked nonstop during the hours of 0800 and 1200, only pausing long enough for sips of water from bottles that were thrown to us across the rows of vines.
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