It’s amazing how pure truth comes from the mouths of young children.
It was a perfect fall morning: sunny, cool, with only a little wind. About 15 volunteers came to the Rising Moon Vineyard for the harvest. Some came with young kids in tow, and there was even a newborn.
After a quick breakfast of croissants and coffee, the volunteers followed the tractor out into the vineyard to spend the morning picking Baco Noir grapes. Time flew as the volunteers picked 4 or 5 harvest bins each.
The old hands at harvesting enjoyed the challenge of picking the best grapes and not missing any hidden bunches.
For the newbies, it was the romance of the harvest and being part of a team that created a wonderful wine they would all enjoy in a few months.
The children loved eating grapes and playing hide-and-seek among the vines.
The morning passed quickly, and before you knew it, everyone was back at the farmhouse for lunch. A morning working in the field builds a robust appetite, and the owner laid out a delicious lunch of flatbreads, spicy pulled chicken, and of course a reminder of what the work was all for, a few bottles of last year’s harvest.
But after such a fine meal, it was hard to rouse the volunteers and get them back into the field. Most got up and followed the crowd without fuss, but it was Jake, sitting beside an open bottle of red, who procrastinated the most. Though Jake had finished what was in his glass, he decided that the bottle should accompany him back to the field. He wanted to show the grapes their future.
It had been a hard week for him. He had hardly slept, and though it was his wife, Cynthia, who had always got up to feed their newborn, Jake felt hard done by. The inconvenience of taking care of their daughter, who was still in grade school, and his lack of sleep, grated on him. To assuage his bruised ego, he took sips of wine to fortify his stamina and encourage him on.
But the effect of his drinking showed. He was falling behind. In the wake of his picking, many grape clusters were still on the vine. Luckily, one of the faster pickers came down his row from the other end, so everyone finished around the same time.
As the sun was setting, the wives and kids came out to see the work done and praise the effort. It was a magical time. Kids were running around, giggling and chasing each other, while the volunteers loaded the trailer with the heavy harvest bins.
“Hey Sara, Jane, look at me! I’m queen of the wagon.” Amanda, Jake’s daughter, called out.
“Amanda,” Jake yelled. “You’re getting silly. How many grapes did you eat? They’re full of sugar, and that’s making you hyper.
“And get off that wagon before you fall off.”
Amanda looked him straight in the eye and replied, “Mom says you’re the one who’s fallen off the wagon, not me.”