Message in a Bottle

Seresin Estate

http://www.seresin.co.nz/

I'm in heaven. This place is incredible. I know, I know I've said that about each farm I've been too but really this place is amazing. I'm surrounded by a sea of beautiful grapevines. Each morning I wake up to the sound of gun shots going off to scare the birds away but it's a beautiful reminder of where I am so it's worth the noise in the AM. These are the kind of gun shots you want to hear outside your door if ya' know what I mean. Cinematographer Michael Seresin owns this place and what a unique place this is. This vineyard has it's own veggie/herb garden we harvest from to eat and feed the rest of the crew working here, a cow to milk (which I did this morning all by hand - no machines), chickens for fresh eggs (can't get enough), compost making and collecting lactating cow shit for soil preparation just to name a few jobs around the farm. Most importantly everything is organically and biodynamically grown, hand-tended and hand-picked. They really put in a lot of work and care to preparing the soil which is used to make a compost tea they spray (of course all natural) on the produce, herbs & grapevines. The results are quality grapes and produce and it shows. So far this has been my favorite farm/vineyard. The people here are so knowledgeable and passionate about the land and what it offers.

I got to harvest grapes for the first time the other day. We hand picked Pinot Noir. They grow several grapes here including Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, & Riesling. Majority of the grapes are Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Both very good. I got to do a tasting the other day...well, it seems like I'm doing a tasting everyday hence the lack of posts lately. All I do is drink wine here and I love it! I work hard and play hard. It's a good balance. I'm so excited to be a part of the harvest. There's something about a vineyard that is so romantic and to be able to walk through them hand picking the grapes while the sun is shining is totally gratifying...well let me be honest, after a few hours of hand picking in the hot sun you tend to get really tired and it can become tedious but at least I had the smell of the grapes to keep me going and I got to munch on a few too so it wasn't all that bad. I will be harvesting again this weekend...for now, I hear the grapes calling but this time they're not calling from the vines...they've left a message in a bottle. Cheers.

check out pictures...http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson#100150