I've been feeling much empathy with my sister-in-law over the last few weeks as she waits for her second baby to arrive. Her due date is today, the 29th February - a birthdate which my brother jokes will save them a lot of money on presents in the future! - but the baby hasn't been showing any real signs of interest in the outside world thus far.
Likewise, my 'due date' for the Shiraz passed by a while back and I confess I was beginning to sense the all-too-familiar panic of a mother-about-to-be , including whether or not to take extreme measures (e.g. cry and stamp my feet outside the winemaker's office or, worse still, subtle tampering with the samples ; ) to 'induce' delivery before the crop became too overdue.
However, I resisted the temptation on my twice-weekly appointments with the midwives (a.k.a. Muriel and Grimelda at Franschhoek Cellars laboratory) and the Shiraz finally 'agreed' to be harvested today. And what a day it was! Contractions began... I mean, the contractor arrived with his labour ; )... fairly early, but not painfully so. There was a little period of respite when queues at the cellar slowed down our delivery schedule. But then, when both vehicles returned, the workers mopped their sweaty brows and pushed through lunch to have all 20tons off by 3pm. A formidable effort!
And as for our dear little babies, well - the bunches all looked perfectly ripe (not a flakey heel in sight!) and the analysis from each delivery made us very proud. Franschhoek have actually asked if they could register the block next year as a single varietal block. Yep - one day we might be able to drink a bottle of our very own pure, unadulterated wine!
Likewise, my 'due date' for the Shiraz passed by a while back and I confess I was beginning to sense the all-too-familiar panic of a mother-about-to-be , including whether or not to take extreme measures (e.g. cry and stamp my feet outside the winemaker's office or, worse still, subtle tampering with the samples ; ) to 'induce' delivery before the crop became too overdue.
However, I resisted the temptation on my twice-weekly appointments with the midwives (a.k.a. Muriel and Grimelda at Franschhoek Cellars laboratory) and the Shiraz finally 'agreed' to be harvested today. And what a day it was! Contractions began... I mean, the contractor arrived with his labour ; )... fairly early, but not painfully so. There was a little period of respite when queues at the cellar slowed down our delivery schedule. But then, when both vehicles returned, the workers mopped their sweaty brows and pushed through lunch to have all 20tons off by 3pm. A formidable effort!
And as for our dear little babies, well - the bunches all looked perfectly ripe (not a flakey heel in sight!) and the analysis from each delivery made us very proud. Franschhoek have actually asked if they could register the block next year as a single varietal block. Yep - one day we might be able to drink a bottle of our very own pure, unadulterated wine!
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