emiGrants: Grape harvest

Last Thursday Rosa came to prepare for her yoga camp and we were harvesting the last apples and packing them away for winter. After a while she went off to Hatvan to do some last minute shopping when my phone went. It was Pityu asking where we are. I told him that we are in Bér and asked him why? He then shocked me by saying that he is expecting us in Monoszló that day and that I told him we were coming. No such thing, quite the opposite, I definitely told him that because of Rosa's yoga camp we can't come until Friday.

David and I in the vineyard

He sounded so dejected that I asked him how important was it that we came straight away? He said very. Why, I asked? We can't play bridge with just 3! I thought that was so sweet that after asking Roy, who was in agreement, I promised that we should be there by evening. What a mad dash that was. I had to phone Rosa and tell her that we won't be there when she returned from shopping. We threw a few things into a couple of bags and drove off.

Ági and Pityu at breakfast

We had to stop at the flat to drop a few things off that would have been daft carrying all the way to Monoszló and back without any reason and also to pick up a few things that we needed at the harvest. Thankfully all the jams on the road were in the opposite direction and finally we arrived about 7pm in Monoszló.

The bridge party

Pityu and Laci were already there. We got fed and watered, as usual, and once David arrived from work in Veszprém the bridge started. I was totally cream crackered and retired by 10pm, but the four of them played until about 1am. The harvest was going to start the following morning, so I thought I would need my beauty sleep, or I would not survive. The pattern of the weekend was food, drink, work, more food and drink, a bit more work, a lot more food and drink and then bridge. Sleep did not feature much in the program, which ended up nearly killing Roy and me, but we didn't mind. The quality of the hospitality and the loveliness of our friends made up for sleepless nights.

Zsolt, our 6ft 4inch astronomer

Friday was the first day of work and we were pretty much undermanned. Some people got ill, others had courses they could not get out of, so the numbers were not quite up to scratch. However, we made up for it with enthusiasm. I was detailed to one of the picking teams, while Roy was operating the large wheel of the mashing machine. As my knee was still not perfect, I was given a low stool to sit on whenever the grapes were hanging low, which helped a bit.

Muggins on her little stool

Pityu has two separate bits of an enormous commonly growing vineyard. He owns 2 long and 2 short rows in one bit and then on the other side of his press house 22 rows which are about middle length. We all had snips, although some bunches came away without cutting. Unfortunately the furthest 4 or 5 rows were pretty much obliterated by the deer, as the forest is very close and they like grapes.

The pink grapes...

... and the lovely blue ones

Further down, however, there were rows where we could stay put for 15 minutes and fill 2 buckets with grapes. Currently I have more bits of me that hurts than bits that don't hurt. Reaching up with both arms at once (one for holding the bunch and the other for cutting it off) plays havoc not just with your arms, but your low back as well. Also, often the bunches dropped, so there was a lot of bending down to the ground picking them up. My knee held up very well, didn't swell up and only hurt a bit by the end of the day.

4 varieties all together

The press

Pityu, as usual, always cooked too much, plied us with wine, spritzers, pálinka and all manner of other drinks. Roy and I were among the slow drinkers, but some of the other guys were putting it away like there was no tomorrow. The machinery Pityu has is somewhat rustic, but does the job. We were picking into buckets and then somebody with a hopper on their back came to collect it. He took them to Roy's masher, after which they brought out the press and pressed the mashed grapes manually. Hard work indeed!

David and Roy working the press

Zsolt with grapes on his back and in his hand

The types of grape were a mystery to me, but there were definitely at least 5 different ones. Two looking like green were Green Vertellini and Juhfark (means sheep's tail). Funnily enough the Juhfark bunches had a bend in them, making them look just like sheep's tails. Then there were some vaguely pink ones, nicely browny red ones and finally the black ones. As I am on a diet of sugar free food, I wasn't supposed to eat too many of them. I was a very good girl on day 1, but by Saturday, when we were in the bit with the pink grapes in, I had to have some and they were gorgeous.

Breakfast

Lunch al fresco

By the end of Saturday we managed to pick all the grapes, but the pressing wasn't going nearly so well. It is very physical hard work and there were not too many people with the strength (other than Zsolt) who could carry on non-stop. So they had to leave a large part of it to Sunday. Roy and I had to rest as we were as good as done in. Some people, a lot younger than us, were doing the same. Most of us left by 4pm, some going home, others elsewhere.

We had a really exciting adventure on our way home, as David, who is a very good friend and whom we love dearly, showed us the house and land he is buying in Balatonalmádi. Most things that I have heard about this property were not exactly positive, but after looking it up on the map I thought it must have some beautiful views. And it most certainly did. The house stands on a plot about 1 and quarter acres. It's an eclectic piece of DIY mess, but while it does not look very pretty, it has potential and what is there seems solid, mostly stone built and the roof looks good and dry too.

Ági with David's house behind her

A tree of pots for decoration

That enormous ground is mostly grass, but with some vines and fruit trees on it. Unfortunately the people have lived there for decades and even though they have already taken away a lot of their stuff, it is still giving the impressions of a junk yard. Having said that I was not nearly as much bothered by that as Ági, David's other half. Both Roy and I have imagination and we can see how nice this will be once someone with flair, imagination and a bit of money improved it. David is really enthusiastic and I am sure he'll love it. He is planning to move in next April when his lease on his current place expires and I am sure he'll do it. I remember when we camped out in a half renovated house and loved it.