The vendage was due to start at 3.00 am this morning at Domain Costeplane. Vincent mentioned this as Kevin, Rose, Jan and I went for a quick tasting yesterday. He said that he had been due to start gathering the Chardonnay on Saturday, but he had worked until late damping down the fire on Friday night. When pressed about such an early start he said that he needed to work when the temperature was below 20 C or fermentation would begin, hence the early morning. He would stop before the daytime temperature reached 20 C. I hope it tastes as good as this year's unoaked chardonnay.***
Our watermelons are relatively small but something inside me says that they are ripe. How to find out? A google search gives us some pointers. Anyway, I bring one in and Jan cuts it open and - it's absolutely delicious; he said, taking a bow. Jan's comment was: "That's one of the best we've had this year, it's so juicy." I'm modestly blushing as I write this because, as you know, I'm not one to sing my own praises - much.
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This afternoon we threw a barbecue so that Kevin could meet up with his longtime friends Chris Ward and Bob Walder (above, left to right, Chris, Kevin and Bob). Chris brings Delphine, and Bob and Lynne bring Harry. It's nice to have everyone together and even Max will be delighted. Jan slaved over a cold stove all day and produced her famous salads (and spare ribs). I slaved over a hot barbecue for 15 minutes and produced, lamb steaks and sausages all cooked to perfection.
