I must confess that when I arrived first thing this morning and saw the scaffold that Fran had erected, I wasn’t sure if it was intended for him to access the presses, or for him to hang himself when he saw all the cleaning that needed to be done (especially when I saw the rope)!

I guess that today you feel a bit like the host of an important party the morning after the event. You’re pleased and relieved that it all went off well, but daunted at the sight of all the cleaning up. If only they hadn’t stolen our best pressure washer…….

For Angela and myself, the job is probably not even half done, as we embark on the wine-making process. 2008 may prove to be less straight forward then the last couple of years, as we will have to factor malolactic fermentation into this years equation. With the acidities being a little higher than we would like, we need to use this natural process to correct them – but that will come later.

It would appear that the harvest in our region is now largely over, as the number of tractors scurrying around delivering grapes seems to have diminished. There are one or two Bodegas still gathering fruit, but only one, to my knowledge, that has not yet started. Now they are either very brave or completely foolish, and only time will tell – all I can say is that I don’t like the look of next weeks weather forecast, and I wish them luck!