The Grape Harvest

This past weekend the long anticipated grape harvest took place at the Kovacs wine cellar. It is an event that we refuse to miss, because it is such a wonderful family event. We arrived on Friday afternoon and simply relaxed for the rest of the day. After breakfast on Saturday, and after the arrival of six more helpers, fourteen of us headed into the vineyard to begin harvesting. The day began cloudy and cool, but eventually the sun burned through and the fresh country air warmed up. We were all in short sleeves by eleven o'clock.

Everyone had a specific job to do. Most everyone clipped the clumps of grapes from the vines and threw them into buckets. At regular intervals Jack came around and had everyone empty their buckets into his larger bucket which held about 45 pounds of grapes. Jack then walked down to the house and dumped the grapes into a machine which squishes the grapes and removes them from the little stems. These grapes and the juice drop into a large tub, from which juice is filtered out into the receiving barrel inside the cellar. The squished skins are transferred to the press, which, after it is full, are pressed. This part of the process removes the rest of the juice. Later in the day the skins are transferred into a smaller shipping barrel to be sent to someone who will ferment and distill the palinka.

We harvested two rows of grapes, more than 100 meters long each, and then took a break together. Then two more rows followed by a second break, and then three rows were harvested to finish the last rows. At about 1:30 we sat down to a delicious lunch of bean soup and wild boar stew. And of course, last year's wine. The harvest is a wonderful yearly event that is taken seriously, but a lot of fun is had in the process. As we were working in the vines we were conversing in Hungarian, German, and English. But everyone knows how to share a laugh while working for a common good.

So the final result: 500 liters of grape juice ready to become wine!


The juicy riesling grapes waiting to be harvested.


The sun breaks through over Dori and Riki.


Break time! Cindy's chocolate chip cookies, which survived the breakfast crowd, were a big hit.


In the vines...


Uncle Pali operates the grinder, while Jack is throwing skins into the press.


The press is nearly full!


Wooden slabs are placed on top of the skins.


Almost ready!


Juice flows out of the press, through a filter pan, into a plastic tub containing a pump.


The green hose brings the juice from outside into the cellar to a waiting barrel.


Tony measures the sugar content (original gravity) and declares it to be "szuper!". One of the young laborers is trying her hand at the press.


The pressed skins are removed and saved for processing into palinka.


Lunch is enjoyed by all! Notice the beautiful view of Lake Balaton.