Harvest Season 2024
Picking grapes on both sides of the ocean
When I started planning a couple of weeks away in France, I never imagined I’d end up in the middle of a vineyard in the Loire Valley, soaked to the bone. But isn’t that the whole point of travel—to put yourself in new situations potentially outside of your comfort zone?
To understand how and why I intentionally stayed out in the rain for an entire afternoon, rather than running to find shelter like any other reasonable human, we need to go back to 2019. To Paris, in fact, at the Women Do Wine show, which featured emerging and established women winemakers from all over France and Switzerland. It was there that I met Isabelle Pangault and tasted the organic, low-intervention wines she makes in the Sologne viticultural area of the Loire Valley under her brand L’Affût. I absolutely fell in love with her sauvignon blanc-based blend, called Instinctive. Isabelle and I started following each other on the socials, and we kept in touch over the years.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago: I was in France visiting family and was heading to the Loire afterwards for a few days of solo travel. I had nothing in particular planned besides seeing some castles and gardens (the Loire Valley is known as the “garden of France” after all) and perhaps drinking some wine. With a view to this last objective, I reached out to Isabelle to see if I could come visit her vineyard and see where the magic happens (be careful what you wish for). She responded that it wouldn’t be possible that week because the harvest was starting, and she was short-handed as it was, so wouldn’t be available to show me around.
So I did what any self-respecting wine writer would do—I offered to help!
My previous experience harvesting grapes at KIN Vineyards had been great (see below), so I had no problem taking a day from my holiday to do some manual labour for a good cause, i.e., helping out a fellow woman in wine.
A Beginner's Guide to Harvesting Grapes
What’s the first thing you picture when you think of harvesting grapes?
My only concern was that I had definitely not packed accordingly. I had left Canada with nothing but a small carry-on suitcase. I definitely didn’t have the protective gear I needed in case the weather turned ugly. Luckily Isabelle said she could lend me a few things.
On my first full day in the Loire, I woke up at the crack of dawn, scarfed down breakfast and coffee, then hit the road in my rented Renault, since my B&B was over an hour away from L’Affût. The others had already started by the time I got there, so I put on Isabelle’s loaned rain boots, grabbed a fisherman-style rain slicker and some shears, and got to work!
The morning was gorgeous and sunny, with only a few clouds that threatened rain.
The afternoon also started off that way, then it clouded over completely, bringing with it some light rain. I had a light-duty rain jacket on, but I quickly grabbed the longer raincoat in an effort to cover more of my pants in case it started to rain harder.
It of course proceeded to pour, and did not let up for what felt like hours (but was likely only about 20 minutes). It was long enough that the harvest supervisor finally yelled out to take shelter in the vans that would bring back the grapes to the chai (essentially, the barrel room where the winemaking magic happens).
But it was too late for me. I was drenched. Sitting in the van, I also realized how sore I was. The last time I had picked grapes, I had brought a small stool to avoid having to crouch and to take some pressure off the back, legs, knees and hips. Alas, I had not thought to pack a stool in my carry-on suitcase, and boy was I feeling the burn!
But the work was so satisfying. By the end of the day, we had collected 61 bins’ worth of sauvignon blanc grapes.
They were brought to the chai, where they were dumped into the grape belt elevator, where they were quickly hand-sorted before being transferred up into the press.
I even had time to get a château in before the end of the day. Vacation mode activated!
Now that I’ve had a week to recover, I’m ready to start all over again!
Harvest at KIN Vineyards begins tomorrow!
Chardonnay will be picked on Saturday and Sunday, and pinot noir will be picked Tuesday and Wednesday. And if you’re in the Ottawa Valley, you can help too! No experience is necessary and KIN will provide all the necessary cutting tools. Just remember to dress for the weather and bring a stool (click on the link for a recap)! Volunteers will be done in time for lunch and thanked for their service with delicious flatbread pizza accompanied by a glass or two of KIN wine. More details and registration here.
Let me know if you plan on going (I’ll be there on Sunday morning) or leave a comment if you helped out at a harvest near you!
Have a great weekend and happy wining :-)
It definitely made it memorable!
wow what an experience. the rain only heightened the experience