Sitting in front of a log fire winding down. Might doze off any minute!

Well it’s our 25th harvest this year and it went really well. Haven’t gathered all the photos yet but our daughter Liz has put her lovely ones - she’s a semi-pro photographer - on her facebook site, click here >>

Family all came to help us get ready. Liz and Dan are local, Ned and Paula headed up from the New Forest and Fred and Nora flew in from Copenhagen . We did actually need a spot of extra help - must be something about harvest time. Iain managed to argue with the kitchen floor last Monday and the floor won. When he came to he had a big wasp (hornet?) sting on his neck and an even bigger bump on his head. NHS was brilliant but he had to take it  easy for the few days in the harvest run-up. Fine now but on light duties.

But thanks to all the help we were ready when yesterday dawned. Ropey weather forecast but turned out dry and warm. Even some sun. Western Daily Press pitched up to take photos for next weekend’s Saturday supplement. There were 22 of us, 17 picking, a mixture of old hands and first-timers, Iain in charge, Matthew i/c loading, Liz photographing, helping me in the kitchen and doing the table. 

More grapes  even than we thought and the last few rows were uphill work - turned out that was where the heaviest crop was too. But everyone worked with a will, helped by breaks for home-made pizza, cakes and coffee, and later on for a glass of last year’s wine, Elizabeth’s 2012. Great crew.

Farmer John’s 3-ton trailer as usual. Half full by coffee time and full  to bursting well before all the picking was done. Our old horse trailer pressed into service with 2 layers, 27 tubs. In all 99 tubs. Not huge, we had 129 in 2006, 111 in 2009. But up there with the big years. very similar to the 100 we had in 2010. We reckon it’s near enough 4 tons off almost exactly an acre. Good condition except for maybe 5% insect and bird damage: just a few botrytised berries but not much at all to be discarded.

Warm enough for harvest lunch outside under the awning and very convivial it was. Five courses. Phew! It all worked! More or less.

Liz came over again this morning to drive the big trailer up to Steve the winemaker’s near Shepton Mallet, me following with the horse trailer. All safely into the press. Free-run juice 67 Oe, 10 g/l. Could have gone another week but it makes a good wine picked a tad early like this. Then straight on up to Bristol Airport to wave off the Denmark contingent

So lucky - great weather, great vines, great picking team, great family! And now it’s time for a little restorative snooze in front of the logs that Fred and Nora cut, split and stacked. Cheers everyone.

PS I have now put a photo-page in our gallery here >>, and you can read the Western Daily Press’s feature here >>.