We began the harvest on the 10th of October and finished yesterday on the 27th. The final tractor arrived back at Plaisance with its horn blowing and everyone was all smiles. As we sorted the last grapes, the whole crew was thrilled. We harvest the merlot first. The cabernets (franc and sauvignon) ripen about two weeks later than the merlot, so they are the last to come in. Now they will be fermented over the next 10 to 14 days. Only then will any of us have a day off since the harvest began.
Let me share with you some photos of us harvesting by hand.
As the day ended, the sunset was beautiful.
