mrsjono

Grape Picking in Martinborough

April 01, 2013

Martinborough is part of the Classic Wine Trail, a 380km journey through the three major wine producing regions in New Zealand - Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa and Marlborough. The grape picking season in Martinborough started in late March and lasted for about a month. Our second job in New Zealand turned out to be loads of fun!

Walking around the wine village, we saw many vineyards had covered their grapes with nets to keep away birds from eating the fruit. This means that the grapes are almost ripe and ready for harvest.

Picking with the Thai seasonal workers

Mucking around before picking starts

Pia is always telling us to "liao liao!!!" which means hurry up in Thai

It's handy to wear a pair of rubber gloves during picking as the juice will get your hands wet and sticky. Extra protection too in case you snip your own fingers. (Not kidding, everyone's gloves had holes all over.) My cloth gloves always leave my hands soaking wet and cold, it gets quite unpleasant wearing them the whole day. So I was happy I could start off the day with dry gloves.

Similarly, working in gum boots will keep your feet dry and safe from accidents. The quad bike accidentally ran over the heel of my boot, lucky it was sturdy enough.

葡萄成熟时...

Ready?

So thick where to start?

One man on each side of the line, cut those on your side, catch the bunch and drop it in the bin.

Fill up the bin and kick it along as you progress to the next bay where there will be an empty bin waiting to be filled again.

Smoko time! (not our food)

边剪边吃!

Listening to music not only increases speed and accuracy, it also distracts me from my sore back after bending and squatting for hours.

Instant relief is lying flat on a bed of nets

I finally know how the construction workers sitting at the back of the lorry feel. After a hard day's work, everyone hops onto the truck for a thrilling ride to the gate, eager to wash up, prepare meals and recharge for the next day.