I like trucks and cars, knowing what horsepower is under the bonnet or a can of beer at the footy with the lads. This would label me as a simple man?
I’m fine with this because I’d like to think I can be sophisticated as well – I sometimes swap the horsepower figures for current affairs and that can of draught for a bottle of wine.
Recently, while enjoying a lovely bottle of plonk and reading of its origins, I began to wonder how South Australian grapes were plucked, transported, squashed and crafted to end up in my glass.
Remembering that the Romans would transport grapes via ships or carts and wagons to keep their soldiers quenched in ancient times, why’ve I never paid the same attention to our modern grapes and their horsepower-drawn carts?
Curiosity conveniently found me in South Australia for grape harvest, and the subsequent journey from CMV Farms’ property in Langhorne Creek to a major Barossa production facility.
Trembling grapes
Vintage 2025 has come early; the warm summer that South Australia is under has brought forward harvest by two weeks.
And with consecutive high 30-degree days, harvesting 138 tonnes of Pinot Gris grapes has to be done through the night. It’s better like this.
Mirroring Tim, the property manager for CMV Farms, I pluck a lightish-purple Pinot Gris grape from the 10-year old vines and pop it in my mouth.
Tim nods and acknowledges their ripeness and the two mighty grape harvesters roar down the rows, tractors in behind.
For the eight lads working the harvesters and old new holland tractors, this patch of Pinot Gris will be completed by 3am.
Hours later, as the orange orb of the sun lowers below the horizon, and a blinged up Kenworth kicks dusts in arrival – the trucking element of the job takes over.
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