Time to reflect upon the past 6 weeks. Harvest went amazingly well, despite rain, stress and a general feeling that we really didn't know what we were doing... I just keep thinking how much easier it will all be next year. We felt so lucky to have everything come together at the last minute! EDF, the electric company, magically showed up on the day before harvest started to install a temporary power supply, my sister Molly and two friends Rhonda and Lori were able to change their travel plans and come early to help, and all of the rest of our many local friends kept coming back again and again to help! There were kids everywhere, so those of you who were worried about bringing them along no longer need to worry! They entertained themselves for hours, picking a few grapes here and there, riding around on the tractor and running through the woods. Our last day of picking was on a Sunday, October 2nd to be exact, we had 2 weeks off in between while we waited for our Mourvedre vineyard to ripen. The Mourvedre vineyard is located at the end of a little valley and is actually a protected "green space" meaning that it is an idyllic place to spend a morning picking grapes. We picked for a only a few hours, it's a very small vineyard and then we had a big celebration lunch with our most dedicated pickers. What a perfect end to our first harvest. If you didn't make it this year, start thinking about next fall, it's such a great experience, a little hard work, but all worth it in the end!