View of grapevines from our back window
Two weeks ago our friend, Ljuba, invited me to participate in her family's first day of grape picking this fall. I really enjoyed myself, but those who know me well know that my "participation" primarily took the form of taking pictures and asking questions. Of course I didn't want to overexert myself.
About 60 local families own rows of grapes in the vineyards outside Klingenbach although the numbers are decreasing from past decades. Once, the area was full of vineyards, but as the old people die off, their descendants cull more of the grapevines. The grandparents used to make 500 to 700 liters of wine annually; now it's more common to make about 300 bottles every few years. The wine is used for family celebrations or given away to family and friends. "Some secrets die with the old people," Ljuba said. "They didn't write it down." So now the vast majority of grape growers pick the grapes, then sell them to an area cooperative that makes the wine. They make grape juice for themselves from the lower quality grapes.
We met at Ljuba's family home where I met her parents Matthias and Anna Biricz. Matthias is a retired bookbinder. Also participating were family friends Eva and Lina.
The tractor will tow the trailer to the nearby vineyard.
Here's our seat on the trailer.
Here's the spotless liner that will hold the grapes.
That's Klingenbach on the next hill.
In the past there was no room for the tractor to drive between the rows so it was parked at the end of a row where the grape pickers hauled the grapes in sacks to dump into the trailer. Now they use plastic buckets. The family used to have grapevines all over the area, but a few years ago they culled many of the rows where the plants were over 80 years old. Now with the rows farther apart, Matthias can drive the tractor down the rows to make it easier for the pickers. The oldest vines the family now has are about 33 years old.
The family has rows of grapevines in 24 scattered fields. They grow six varieties of grapes, four red and two white. Ljuba explained that the red are worth more, but the variety is determined by location. Some areas are better for red because of the angle of the sun as it reaches the row. Rain is important in April and May for the amount of grapes and their sugar content - the higher the sugar content, the higher the quality and the more money they earn. Sun is important in August and September; rain in September tends to lessen the sugar content. There was more rain this year than usual, the effect of which will be determined when the grapes are taken to the cooperative.
With five people as we had on this day, it takes only a few hours to pick the grapes from the row. In the past they frequently had 15 to 20 people taking all day to pick several rows. The larger groups enjoyed a picnic lunch with wine from previous harvests; now the picking can be finished in a morning as it was on our day.
Left to right: Me, Anna, Matthias, Eva and Lina
Different grapes are picked at different times. On this day we were picking Zweigelt and Blauer Portugieser, both grapes for red wines. All over Burgenland on that day people were picking those two grape varieties and taking them to the cooperative.
The grapes are cut with garden shears at the base of the bunch. About 1 1/2 kg (3.3 lbs) of grapes makes 1 liter of wine, and 9,000 kg of grapes can be obtained from a hectare. A hectare is almost 2 1/2 acres.
Ljuba shows a bunch of grapes on the vine. The darker the grapes, the higher the quality.
Judicious pruning is vitally important to quality. In February the main stalk is tied off. The rest is trimmed so the grapes will grow on the thick stems. On some vines the main stalk is cut back, and the medium stalk will become the main stalk next year.
The best combination is five bunches of grapes on a stalk. If there are too many bunches on a stalk, the grapes will be good enough only for table wine.
Ljuba and Eva work on opposite sides of a row.
Matthias and Anna came out a few days earlier and discarded lower quality grapes. They can determine quality by how the bunch grows. Grapes on a thin secondary stalk are sour, and they won't earn money for poorer grapes.
Matthias demonstrates that the birds get their share. Small scarecrows are used, but obviously the birds aren't too frightened of them.
I actually did cut a couple of bunches.
I always did want to drive a tractor, but this is the closest I'll ever get!
Ljuba said this seat on the back of the tractor is where her grandmother rode for decades to and from the vineyards.
This seat on the front of the trailer is where Ljuba and I sat on the ride. It felt like riding on the buckboard of a western wagon.
Matthias and Ljuba begin the process of filling the trailer with buckets of grapes.
Matthias and Ljuba
Schoolchildren in Austria take hikes through the countryside every year. A group of about 30 Klingenbach third graders were on an eight-kilometer hike when they passed by us in the vineyard.
The ladies made sure that every child had a bunch of grapes to add to the lunch they carried in their backpacks.
Anna's a good-natured and tireless worker. Here she's smiling and continuing to work even after her hand swelled up after a bee sting.
The trailer's filling up.
All these grapes from one row of vines
Next Matthias took the grapes to the wine cooperative. That's in the next wine blog.
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