Portugal 2009

well, for those of you who didnt know I am in Portugal working the harvest for a port winery called Quinta do Tedo. I arrived yesterday after many sleepless flights and was surprised to find out that the harvest has already started! It seems the grapes ripened early this year and the crew had already started processing fruit. I was shown my room which is in a house just up the hill from the winery and told to be at work at 9 am the next morning. I awoke in the dark to Jorge, our winemaker, banging on the door downstairs telling me that it was time for lunch! It seems I had slept through my alarm and since the windows here are shuttered I had slept 15 hours. No one seemed to care though and I was grateful because I was very tired. Today however, went till 10 pm and I can only imagine how tired I would be had I been at work at 9. I cant wait to post pictures of the winery and the views becuase this place is gorgeous. It is nestled at the meeting of the Duaro river and the Tedo river. Everything here is extremely steep and the vinyards are terraced on the steepest slopes I have ever seen farmed. Today was all Tempranillo, but I am told that the Duaro is a very diverse valley with over 60 different genetic varieties. So far everything is in lagars, and they still do maceration by foot, eight men at a time for four hour shifts, very traditional. Tomorrow will be a little bit more relaxed I just hope I can wake up on time.