The view from my "office"

[Bindibuys]

re: The view from my "office"

What!! more lounge time on that later flight.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

re: The view from my "office"

What!! more lounge time on that later flight.

Prefer to drink champagne at home with Mr Up and the furbabies
Flight was pretty good actually..

 

[TomVexille]

re: The view from my "office"

Prefer to drink champagne at home with Mr Up and the furbabies
Flight was pretty good actually..

Such a romantic

 

[Cruiser Elite]

re: The view from my "office"

I sniff a serious trend towards staying home - I asked Cruiserette choose any restaurant in MEL - she responded after the disgrace of 'Windows By The Bay' on foreshore in Mordy 2 yrs back where it cost nigh on $500 for the night with totally average food (full marks for the Champ but) could we stay home - she wants a bottle of Dom and I need to prepare best 'Grazing Plate' I can muster*

Done deal - bottle of Dom followed by an RWT watching movies - my kinda night!

*You like that one Hvr?

 

[blackcat20]

re: The view from my "office"

I sniff a serious trend towards staying home - I asked Cruiserette choose any restaurant in MEL - she responded after the disgrace of 'Windows By The Bay' on foreshore in Mordy 2 yrs back where it cost nigh on $500 for the night with totally average food (full marks for the Champ but) could we stay home - she wants a bottle of Dom and I need to prepare best 'Grazing Plate' I can muster*

Done deal - bottle of Dom followed by an RWT watching movies - my kinda night!

*You like that one Hvr?

We will see your Dom and raise with Nutella donuts and Ruinart

 

[JohnM]

re: The view from my "office"

What is this? How did this happen? *Sigh* the things we do for love
Sacrificed my business class upgrade for earlier flight..
View attachment 64822

:shock::shock:......

 

[JohnM]

re: The view from my "office"

Back in the vineyards at Pemberton for two long days yesterday and today.

The Botrytis is going nuts in our non fungicide-treated plots in the Chardonnay. Not what a vigneron wants to see :shock: - but just what we want to see to deliver a clear result to clients for product and dose (a happy client is a good client ).



The first harvesting was done overnight and today. Last year we also happened to be on-site on the first day of harvest at that vineyard - but it was 4 March in 2015.

Machine harvesting last night went from 8.30 pm to 5.30 am and they were hand-harvesting today - different requirements from various wineries they sell fruit to (including some well-known WA producers). Chardonnay I believe is currently fetching about $1200/tonne.

Needless to say the owner was desperate to get home for some sleep when we caught up with him as we left that vineyard around noon. They were washing out tubs after washing down the harvester earlier.



The Cabernet Sauvignon at our second site is coming up to ripeness.



Tasted a few berries. Hmmnnn - taste like Cab Sav wine. Errrr, hang on, isn't that the wrong way round . It always amuses me that people almost exclusively describe the taste of wines in terms of a greengrocer's shop and various other things, but not in terms of the flavour of the ripe grapes . I guess few people get to taste wine grapes on the cusp of harvest.

Chardonnay has little distinctive flavour - hence all the messing that can be done with it afterwards, I guess. The Sav Blanc was well short of ripe but the flavour profile is strong and distinct.

The machine harvester. These are incredible devices, IMO. It's amazing to think how they can remove grapes from a mass of tangled vines so effectively.



Some closer details on the harvester to follow...

 

[JohnM]

re: The view from my "office"

Some close-ups of the grape harvester.



Front-on. It straddles a row and the conveyor arm transfers the grapes to a chaser tractor/trailer a couple of rows across.



A closer view looking in from the front. The yellow looped bars vibrate and extend into the foliage to shake the berries off the bunches. The overlapping plastic panels at the floor open to allow the stems and posts to be traversed but prevent grapes dropping to the ground.



Looking in from the rear.



A closer view from the rear, showing the conveyor buckets to the sides, for capturing the grapes.



Up they go and out on the conveyor to the bins.

Don't ever say JohnM doesn't try to improve your general knowledge .

 

[dmitri]

re: The view from my "office"

The extent of my physical activity today has been piling wood into the fire place, currently staying at Chateau de Villette - Best kept secret in Burgundy for the last 2 nights, we have only left our farm house twice, once to buy groceries and once to walk around the forest. Highly recommended if you want to chill out, we haven't turned the TV on since we got here. (don't know why 2 photos post every time I upload them)

 

[penegal]

re: The view from my "office"

Amazing technology JohnM. Most agricultural equipment is amazing. Machines can now do work previously done by humans.

There is still something very special about hand picked, and hand made wines. But in the modern age, the machine harvester, and the destemmer back at the winery make a farmer and winemakers job much easier at vintage time. Hence the cheap quaffer is actually quite cheap to produce now.

---

Nice one dmitri - looks like a good place to chill out.

 

[RooFlyer]

re: The view from my "office"

Amazing technology JohnM. Most agricultural equipment is amazing. Machines can now do work previously done by humans.
<snip>

Tell my ancestors about it. They were shipped out from Blighty for 'machine breaking', protesting about the new fangled machines taking away the bruvvers jobs.

 

[penegal]

re: The view from my "office"

Tell my ancestors about it. They were shipped out from Blighty for 'machine breaking', protesting about the new fangled machines taking away the bruvvers jobs.

I always knew you were secretly a luddite.

 

[penegal]

re: The view from my "office"

Mind you the hipster movement has muddied the water for luddites with their single gear bicycles and the like. A single gear bicycle is still a machine - why don't you WALK....

 

[love_the_life]

re: The view from my "office"

The extent of my physical activity today has been piling wood into the fire place, currently staying at Chateau de Villette - Best kept secret in Burgundy for the last 2 nights, we have only left our farm house twice, once to buy groceries and once to walk around the forest. Highly recommended if you want to chill out, we haven't turned the TV on since we got here. (don't know why 2 photos post every time I upload them)

View attachment 64852

That must be pretty warm if you can sit with bare legs!

 

[amaroo]

re: The view from my "office"

Not half bad..

 

[JohnK]

re: The view from my "office"

Sounds like JohnnyK gettin' clucky to me.

Firstly as you may have noticed I am not a female. Secondly I am nearly 52.

 

[russ]

re: The view from my "office"

My Friday afternoon view

 

[Rugby]

re: The view from my "office"

My Friday afternoon view
View attachment 64894

Your drinks selection will beat my Friday Sav Blanc quaffer

 

[irv]

re: The view from my "office"



North Brother looking down to the Camden Haven river mouth.

 

[TheRealTMA]

re: The view from my "office"

My Friday afternoon view
View attachment 64894

look like you're in 1A? Try 2A next time. More space on the left behind the drinks section.