By Tim Protzman
As the sun retreats and the nights grow longer,
ancient harvest traditions come alive in vineyards across the globe.
Unusual weather and temperatures have marked 2003
and, while the quality of the wine remains a mystery, the rituals
surrounding the picking of the grapes are unchanging.
This year was trying for California. There's a glut
of grapes and wine, which reduces prices; southern hemisphere imports
are cutting into sales; energy costs are up and the weather's been
unusual, with a cold, wet spring, stormy summer and hot early fall. The
harvest is early or late depending on the region, but almost nowhere is
it on time.
Californian wineries will survive in part due to
the spirit and tenacity of the growers and in part due to tourism,
which is becoming a greater source of revenue. Fall in Napa Valley is a
time of labor. Migrant workers and volunteers (who aren't paid but do
it for the experience) handpick the grapes. Lunch is a grand affair.
Under a great oak tree, tables of food are set, and jugs of wine are
opened. Mexican folk songs are sung. The last day of the harvest is
marked by a ceremonial foot-stomping of the grapes. In smaller towns, a
Harvest Queen is crowned and there's a parade. Lots of people get
thrown into the crushed grape must. (Tip for travelers: don't wear your
Dolce & Gabbana shirt.) While many of these traditions originated
in Europe, California has put a uniquely American spin on them.
The high holy day of French wine is the third
Thursday of November, the day the Nouvelle Beaujolais arrives. Nouvelle
Beaujolais goes against every French tradition, since it is not years
or months old, but weeks. Beaujolais is made from the gamay grape and
has the fresh, light taste of strawberries. Huge dinners are held and
entire towns give over to celebration. While some of the villages have
been honoring the occasion for centuries, modern marketing gets credit
for making Nouvelle Beaujolais a household name since the early 1950s.
In Burgundy, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du
Tastevin holds great 12-course dinners, invitation-only of course, with
roast suckling pig, truffles and platters of single farm cheeses, while
wearing hats and robes that look like something the faculty would wear
in a Las Vegas version of a graduation. The workers are treated to four
meals a day, including an egg, fruit and croissant breakfast amid the
vines. Beef Bourguignonne is served at the mid-day meal.
Bordeaux, which makes elegant and nuanced wines,
has the simplest food traditions. Huge bonfires, made from the cut and
dried vines, are lit at dusk. Sausages, chickens and steaks are grilled
in wrought iron baskets, infused with smoke from handfuls of herbs
added to the blaze. By early evening, so much wine's been consumed that
the designated hay wagon driver takes everyone home.
You can celebrate the harvest two ways: at home
with some yummy Beaujolais or by visiting one of the state's wineries.
Jewell Towne Vineyards in South Hampton offers free
tours and tastings May through December, Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5
p.m. Try their Ice Wine!
Flag Hill Winery & Vineyard in Lee produces 16
wines, including fruit wines and a seyval blanc. The tasting room is
open Wednesday through Saturday 11a.m. to 5 p.m. Tours by appointment.
In preparation for the 2003 Nouvelle Beaujolais
release try these Beaujolais':
Domaine du DuPeuple $9.99
Nice fruit, tart cherry and pineapple hints.
Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages $6.99 Great with cold cuts and sandwiches. Sort of an
adult fruit punch with cranberry notes.
Chateau de la Chaize, Brouilly $9.99 My definitive
Beaujolais. Each sip presents light fruit tastes of melon, cherry, plum
and strawberry.
