Musings of A Suburban Farmer on Harvest Day
Today I picked the grapes from my vineyard. I got 366 usable pounds from my 25 vines even though I lost at least 100 pounds to birds that somehow penetrated my elaborate net system. The harvest will still give me between 90 and 115 bottles of what I hope will be decent wine - at least as decent as the ‘06 I’m happily sipping right now.
I used the term “Suburban Farmer” as a shameless lure to get folks to read this blog. To be honest, I’m not a “Farmer” at all. I grow grapes as a hobby, and since I am a self-employed consultant, the time I spend growing these grapes has an “opportunity cost” far greater than what the Syrah I bottle will be worth as a reduction in my substantial wine budget. I think it is great to garden or do home wine making, and I wish even more people had the opportunity to do it. It is good for body and soul - better than the money I could have made. But this is still not farming. I have too much respect for real farmers to call it that.
