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Published: March 15th 2015
Driving onto the vineyard at Big Sky Wines, the trees in the rearview mirror engulf the airborne dust of the gravel road. Hills surrounding the Te Muna Valley sit in the distance like curious observers, as the clouds unfold opening into a faded, blue jean sky above. Stepping out of the car, the gentle heat of the sun floods over the vibrant green of the Pinot Noir vines. On my way to the house, their bushy arms wave joyfully in the wind as if to say, “Hey there! We are awaiting our summer leaf plucking.”
In the month of January, Jhene and I got to spend almost three weeks vineyard sitting in Martinborough, home of New Zealand's finest Pinot Noir crop. We met Katherine Jacobs and Jeremy Corban, the owners, winemakers and viticulturists for Big Sky, on a Saturday night. They live on the property with their two children who are in their teens.
The open space of the property was captivating. As we brought our bags in through the main entry, the rays of the sinking sun poured in and danced on the vaulted, A- frame ceilings. The house itself, designed by a family member, was built to
Leaf Plucking
Look at that pile of leaves!capture light from all sides and felt like it was intimately a part of the vineyard. The lounge, dining room, and kitchen were all in the same space under the A-framed ceiling. The lounge had couches and bean bags all facing a small TV and an upright piano littered with music, other instruments and family photos. A fluffy black carpet connected the space.
The dining area had a long, oval, wooden table large enough to comfortably seat eight. And the kitchen had a breakfast bar with stools that overlooked a cooking space big enough for multiple cooks. The large glass wall on the far side of the family room was folded open to the porch, making it look like there wasn’t even a wall there at all. The breeze softly fluttered through the room, whispering of the evenings dropping temperatures.
After giving us the tour and the list of tasks to be done, the six of us had a family style dinner.Salad made from fresh vegetables in the garden, local steamed veggies, and grilled steak filled the table. We talked about the history of Big Sky, their kids’ many talents and impressive interests, and Jhene and I’s previous
WWOOFing experience. After dinner, two other WWOOFers arrived and settled into the camper outside of the kitchen. Katja and Vanessa would also be with us for this time to help us look after the property. Our hosts spent the rest of the evening packing and the next morning they were off on their holiday to the South Island.
I woke up that first morning to the sun intruding into my room. Even with the blinds closed the double glass doors drew the heat of the sun in like a greenhouse. It was a beautiful way to wake up: no alarm clock needed. Leaving my room, I walked through Jhene’s room which was a pop-up bed set up in the office. She got up shortly after me and we made us all a big breakfast of banana pancakes. The four of us sat around the table and got to know another over coffee and breakfast. After, I gave them the rundown of what were expected to do in our time there.
Our main task on the vineyard was leaf plucking. At that point in the summer, small bunches of green grapes were in the process of growing. To reach
their full ripeness, they needed to get ample sunlight and a soft breeze. To make this happen, we had to take off about 80%!o(MISSING)f the leaves in the grow area. The task, however, seemed daunting as there were 60 rows of Pinot Noir for us to pluck, and each row had over 100 vines in it. Luckily, they did not expect us to complete the entire block.
On the Vineyard
Getting ready for the vineyard work each morning, I put on a large brimmed hat with lace to go around my chin, safety-style sunglasses, and a men’s long sleeved, button up shirt. The sun was intense even at 9:00 am and keeping it off my body was the only way I was to survive five hours of leaf plucking in the vineyard. Armed with a thick layer of sunscreen, a canteen of water and a ziplock bag of veggies, I was out the door.
The walk to the block was invigorating. The leopard print gum boots (rubber boots) on my feet crunched on the dry grass as I crossed the front of the field, the block of Pinot to my left. The sun was already high
in the summer sky, its light drifting over the surrounding hills and neighboring vineyards. As I approached the connex boxes where materials and tools were stored, a small cluster of bunnies scattered back into the burrows, just below them. Sometimes one would wait crouched in the grass as I passed. On my favorite mornings, a herd of sheep would roll in clusters down the gravel road, being driven by dogs and men on four wheelers.
Once in the rows of vines a rush of peace would come over me. The constant motion and repetitive nature of the work were therapeutic. I would often talk to the little bunches of grapes, telling them how good they looked and that they will grow big and strong. I felt myself exuding positive energy into the plants as my hands removed their leaves and tucked in their flailing vines with a gentle affection. I often sang to the vines as I went about my leaf plucking. The sun, with the breeze and the dancing leaves, made the work outside so rewarding.
Around 1:00 pm I was usually out of water and ready for food. Heading back to the house I would sweep
around the far side of the property and water the back vegetable garden. The path lead between a field of tall grass and the neighbors electric fence lined with purple flowers carpeting the base of huge hay bales. With the cotton ball clouds just above, I felt like I was walking through an Andris Apse photograph. The back garden was small, but strategically placed away from the chickens. Here I harvested lettuce for lunch and did occasional weeding.
Previously, Jhene and I spent a few weeks working at Paradisos Del Sol Winery, where Paul and Barbara had personally answered the hundreds of questions we had about viticulture, winemaking, and pruning. On top of this Paul strategically delivered lectures of the most captivating sort, leaving us bursting at the seams with new knowledge. Not having the opportunity to ask the owners our questions directly, Jhene and I did a lot of googling, which inevitably lead to more questions. We wanted this to be a learning process for us, so we reached out to Paul and Barbara. This lead to multiple Skype dates and several e-mail streams full of photos.
As for the other tasks, the four of us took
Katja pouring Big Sky Wine
Dinner on the porch our first night! turns watering and weeding the main vegetable garden. Here we were able to harvest some zucchini (called courgettes in New Zealand) and a few snow peas. Off the front of the house, I weeded and planted herbs in the small herb garden. The four chickens were such a joy. They came running when you called them and gobbled up the compost scraps and chicken feed. Despite my attempts, they were not interested in being cuddled. We all kept an eye on their water and took turns feeding them and collecting their eggs. They regularly provided about three a day.
Off time
Being on the property gave Jhene and I a lot of time to just be in the moment. Hours alone working on our individual rows in the vineyard gave us ample time to reflect. Nights under the stars and sitting on bean bags on the porch outside of my room inspired deep conversations of personal growth and changing perspectives. Jhene got plenty of time to read while I spent hours playing piano and writing in my journal. Each morning we did our 45-minute workout in the living room before heading out to the vineyard. In
the evenings, we often took advantage of their huge bathtub with a gorgeous view of the property.
Each night the four of us had a sit-down dinner together and often had BBQs on the back porch. We spent nights playing board games and Bananagrams and took turns jumping on the trampoline under the stars. During the downtime, there were usually several people reading in the living room. I would often go out and have my coffee on the steps outside of the master bedroom. Here Treasure, the cat, who we nicknamed Fluff Muffin, would squeeze out of the window from his place on the bed and join me. This adorable fluffy black cat would sit out there with me as we watched the chickens scavenge the yard for worms and other grubs. He became more and more friendly and loved to be pet and brushed regularly.
Jhene and I spent time at the park in the central business district (CBD) which was about seven miles away. Here I would hang my silks in a tree and then we would practice our acro yoga together. Typically we packed a picnic lunch and then went to check out
two of three local wine tastings.
Of all of the places we visited, Poppies was our favorite. The owners were deliciously kind people. After talking with them once, we felt like we had known them for years. The love and energy they put into their wines, the space they’ve created and the service they provided, reflected on the faces of each visiting person and shimmered in each glass of wine. Their wine was also by far the best we had had in Martinborough. We visited their tasting room multiple times, just to simply have a glass of wine and sit on their stone patio under a trellis of baby vines amongst pots of blooming flowers.
New Years Eve
We spent New Years Eve on the Vineyard and the four of us started a tradition that I hope to carry on through my life. After literally taking a step in the right foot at midnight, we gathered around a lit candle that sat in an 8” x 8” baking pan at the dining room table. Each with pens and scraps of paper, I had each person write down three things:
1. A wish
2.
Something you would change
3. Something you want to let go of
Afterward, I made everyone go back to number one. I told them they had to change it into an “I will” or “I am going to.” Then they had to write three action steps to make it happen. I did this because making a wish requires no action and wishes don’t don’t just come true. We have to make them come true through our efforts and writing out these steps was creating a map to make them a reality.
As an affirmation, we read them each aloud to each other. And, as if to set their energy free into the universe, we lit each piece of paper on fire, letting the ashes rest in the bottom of the pan. The exercise created a platform for each of us to talk about very personal and intimate fears and dreams. It was scary to open up and be vulnerable in the midst of strangers, but the activity gave each of us a newfound respect and understanding of each other. I was very proud of the girls at that table and grateful for such an empowering start to
Free!
Look what I found on the side of the road! Thanks Sheepies! the New Year.
Our time on the vineyard was one of personal growth, hard work, learning, and appreciation. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be at Big Sky and be a caretaker of such a beautiful space. If you ever find your way to Martinborough, look up Big Sky Wines!
Jhene and I also had several other adventures off of the property. I will cover these in separate blogs, so stay tuned!
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Jordan Wells
non-member comment
i got the travel itch
hey girl! Reading your entries and seeing the pics gives me the travel itch real bad. I'll be moving to Seattle next month, so that'll have to suffice for now. Hope to see you soon-ish!