It may have been a long six-hour flight to Moraga from Connecticut, but it was surely worth it. Every year I get to come to my grandparents' vineyard, and I love it there. My name is Hazel, and I am the third out of eight grandchildren of Susan and Salah, the owners of Captain Vineyards. I didn't waste a second at the vineyard. I mean, I only get one week to come here once a year, and I wanted to make the best out of this trip. I was so happy when my grandma, Susan, asked if I wanted to go hang up tinsel to scare away the birds.
At first, I thought, "Why? What did they ever do?" But then I remembered last year, and how they ate all of the grapes. She tied an apron on me and sent me with my sister, Camille, to go to Pinot, a variety of grapes that the birds loved.
Right when I started walking, my grandma stopped me and said, "Bring your refractometer. I want you to tell me the average of Pinot." You are probably wondering, what is a refractometer, and what "average" are you talking about?
A refractometer is a tool used to measure the sugar level (brix) of the grapes and know when they are ready to be harvested. I took the refractometer and the tinsel and ran down the long hill to the Pinot Noir section of the vineyard. Once we both got to Pinot, Camille started hanging tinsel, while I got the results for the brix of the grapes.
We expect in about two months the grapes will be ready to be harvested. The grapes must get to 22 or more brix to be harvested. These are the results that I got: 19, 18, 17, 17, 17. That made an average of 17.8 brix for Pinot.
In my left hand is a refractometer in its case. When you look into the refractometer, you will see no result unless you look into the light where the sun is. Pinot grapes taste so sweet and delicious, I could even say that they are better than the store-bought ones.
A few days later, Lily (my oldest sister), Camille, and I were asked to go and put up scare crows. They looked kind of creepy, but I guess that's their purpose. This would make the birds really not want to come.
Overall, this was a great experience, and I can't wait for what will come next year! Thanks for reading! I hope you will enjoy your visit as much as I did mine!