Two Hills Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc
The flapping of birds wings against the window woke me up this morning. I helped the young swallows out of our shed by opening the back window. It was about a quarter to seven and I had to hurry because I had promised my daughter Charlotte to take her on a morning walk through the vineyards. She was already waiting for me. It was the last morning on the farm for my three women before they had to return to Bangkok.
It was a glorious morning. The sun was up and bathed the rolling green hills in its tender light. We did not have to walk long before we bumped into a Kangaroo family. The mother and joey jumped through the rows of our Pinot Noir, downhill to get away from us. We saw the two two more times. We walked over the second hill down to Katy’s creek and back to the shed. ‘Father and daughter talk’ all the way.
After breakfast, we packed the suitcases into our new pick-up truck and off we went to Melbourne airport. The girls were very sad leaving the vineyard behind but there was no way of extending the stay in Australia. I am the lucky one, having another week in Australia to do some more work in the vineyard and around the shed.
We had lunch at the airport, then came the time to say good bye (intense as always). The three went through the passport control and I turned around and went back to the farm. I love driving through the Victorian countryside but first I had to get out of town. Endless suburbs with houses on quarter acres blocks, industrial estates, junk yards, and other disturbing urban land use had to be traversed. But I knew the open countryside was waiting for me just after Diamond Creek.
I listened to Country (and Western) music, opened the window, arm out and felt like a real Australian country bloke. Samson Hill Winery was the first vineyard I passed, then came Christmas Hills and in no time I reached Yarra Glen. I did some shopping in the local supermarket.
The old gum tree and the Chardonnay block
After I reached the vineyard, I took a rest during the hot hours of the day. It was the hottest day since a long long time. After it had cooled down, I worked a bit in the garden, then lifted fruit wires for about two hours in the Merlot, witnessed a glorious sunset, prepared dinner, drank a bottle of ‘2001 Two Hills Merlot’ and went to bed. It was the warmest evening so far. The quiet country atmosphere brought back the necessary peace of mind.
PS: I wrote this blog from my terrace overlooking the vineyard. We are connected, hurrah!
The Man from Mosel River 