Epaulé Jeté...
Pommard 1er Cru les Arvelets
This essential harvest function used to be__and it still is most of the time__ a man's job : Carrying the back basket or the crate full of grapes from the rows to the gondola or to the truck is a hard job, one that can leave you with lasting pains in the back, and I didn't expect to see a young woman perform it with so much ease until I spent time at Philippe Pacalet's harvest in Burgundy. We already knew the move that saves the vignerons (Epaulé Jeté)__an easy one, I can do it any time...__, now you can learn the move that saves the grapes, as transporting these grapes in small crates helps get the raw material in perfect condition to the winery door, and ultimately helps vinify a much better wine. Watching Marine take the heavy crate on her shoulder and running up the slope to the truck was a lesson for all of us.
The guy who brought the crate to Marine after collecting the grapes from the pickers is one of the Dutch harvesters who take their vacation at this time of the year and drive down from Holland to take part the the picking at Pacalet.
Edit : I discovered later in the chai (following story) that each of these full crates weighs at least 25 kilograms...
Hi Bertrand,
there is yet another solution to saving your back! We work with even smaller crates (about half the size of those shown in your pictures), that take about 8-10 kg of grapes maximum. And we transport them from the rows to the trailer using specially adapted weelbarrows, that take 6-8 crates at a time. There is one grower in our village (Mercurey) that uses even smaller crates (8 cm high, take 4 kg), but you need about a zillion of them; and cleaning all those crates is a nightmare!
Posted by: Roelof Ligtmans | October 06, 2012 at 10:09 AM