Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...

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So today, Friday 13th, has been the second and final day of the 2019 Vendemmia for the organic Syrah wine of the Doveri Cantina, near to Cortona. An early six o clock start saw us sipping coffee and munching creme- pastries, a usual pastime before a busy morning in the vineyard....and was it busy, wow....In the cool of the morning I watched many big strong, rough looking girls and boys scurrying up and down the rows, snipping away at the bunches of ripe grapes as the morning sun came up and before long the crates were overflowing and were being loaded on the awaiting truck.

I thought it best, as a non paid-up union member, not to get too involved so I took on a self-appointed overseeing management role otherwise I’m sure I could have lost a finger or two or worse, at the bottom of one of the longer rows where no-one would have heard my pathetic whimpering screams.
So, after an hour or so watching (managing) this impressive spectacle of organised labour the boss and I returned to the cantina to prepare the machinery for the subsequent arrival of the 🍇 truck.
The machine, the ‘Di-Raspatrice’, so named as it removes the grapes from the stalks or ‘Raspi’ and ‘trice’ pronounced ‘treechee’...well that’s the machine bit, ok?

 Anyway it takes two to tango or operate, one to stand looking cool and tip in the grapes and another to operate the stick below. The ‘tipping’ job is ok and the boss took this so I got the ‘Nobs job’, sat on a crate, rooting about underneath with the stick to prevent the blockages with the grapes and sticky stalks role.....well let’s just say that the novelty wears off quite quickly!....
This work, although deemed as ‘Molto Importante’ by the smiling gaffer was in fact a pretty crap job and even got demoted during our discussions to the title of ‘Lavoro di cazzo’....so as I sat there waiting and wishing I had a proper job it was with great relief when I saw his lovely elderly father, Benito,  rock up wanting to help out. He was very swiftly interviewed, trained and employed full-time under the job title ‘Head Stick Operator’ (HSO). In turn, I was automatically promoted to (HPO) ...a highly skilled job with responsibilities involving a Hose-Pipe, crates and a soft brush for the rest of the afternoon....Happy Days!
Once finished and cleaned up we enjoyed another of Mums home cooked, home reared 4 course ‘piatti’ extravaganza on the big table in the cantina including crostini,lasagne, roasted rabbit and chicken with potatoes and veg and a fig and nut cake , baked and provided by his sister....all washed down with the 2016 and 7.
 A Great end to a great Vendemmia....🍷

Today’s blog track comes from the old surfer dude, Jack Johnson from an old 2005 album I used to like called ‘In between dreams’....enjoy the link.

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