hiya bucks in Bourne End, Flackwell Heath, Marlow, Wycombe, Wooburn November 2016 | Page 22

The diary of a BUCKINGHAMSHIRE VINEYARD aged 8¼ INTO THE SEASON OF MISTS AND MELLOW FRUITFULNESS…..OCTOBER IN THE VINEYARD IS HARVEST TIME. AFTER THE LONG WEEKS OF WINTER, SPRING AND SUMMER THE GRAPES ARE NEARING THEIR NEMESIS. PICKING TIME! This may be the busiest month in the vineyard’s calendar but it is no hardship. Bringing home the grapes is a happy sociable affair. It’s a celebration. The sight of the fruits of all the year’s labours piled high in the collecting baskets is strangely satisfying. And harvest time is party time. An excuse to round up the family and game friends and get those harvest brunch menus on the go. To determine the dates of picking two vital tests – for sugar and acid levels – need to be undertaken. Then in dialogue with the wine maker - the alchemist - we settle on a suitable day for delivering the precious stock to fit in with the other neighbouring vineyards who are also lining up to deliver their cargo to the winery. But we have a problem. We aren’t the only ones eyeing up the juicy crop with relish. Dropmore has experienced an unusual first – not one we want to repeat. A bird strike or, more specifically, a parakeet strike. The day before the first harvest, the vineyard sounds like the Amazon rainforest – reason is not hard to see as a swarm of these beautiful but pesky birds swoop and divebomb the vines. Clearly the word has got round that it’s all on the grapevine and half the Datchet roost, it seems, has decamped to Dropmore. deterrents. The parakeets take no notice. We piece together the 13metre pole from which a giant balloon/kite contraption floats over the vineyard maintaining silent guard over the crop. So far so good. If this fails, we will have to get out the gas-powered banger but while this is highly effective in disturbing unwanted birds, it also disturbs long-suffering neighbours, so this is a last resort. I scurry up and down the rows posting silver reflector strips that are supposed to act as bird 01628 664376 [email protected] 22 www.dropmorewines.co.uk To advertise in Hiya Bucks text or call 07947 349134