Vineyard Composting

Vineyards are not all grapes and glamour. There is a very practical side to vineyard work... like composting. In a discreet corner of the "Wither Hills" vineyard can be found the compost heaps. The vast majority of the compost is made from grape marc. This is the residue left over after the grapes have been crushed at vintage. It consists of grape skins, seeds and stalks with a certain amount of liquid.
Masses of it is piled into heaps and then left to rot throughout the year. The smell is amazing, especially just after it has been dumped. It settles down a bit over time but is highly reminiscent of the end product...smelling distinctly alcoholic. I don't drink alcohol at all but I reckon if I stood near enough and sniffed for long enough I could get as high as a kite. It is pretty potent stuff.
Here, it is being mixed with more traditional compost ready to be loaded into hoppers to be "broad-acred "(broadcast) through parts of the vineyard. I would think it would make excellent mulch too.
It was another cloudy start to the day but improved as we got towards lunch time.
The drought gets worse. A friend who lives in Westport on the West Coast tells me they are now on water restrictions in their area. The West Coast is infamous for its usually extremely high rainfall. Roll on the rain please.
Here we are, hoping and praying for rain in New Zealand and we hear on the news today of heavy snowfalls in the UK and Europe. I hope our Blip friends are not too cold. We are thinking of you...