Saturday 21/07 saw a motley collection of social misfits gathered on a Devonhillside intent upon inflicting GBH on some vines, owned by Janice and Ivan Jordan, near Silverton.  They specialise in growing herbs and edible flowers (www.greensherbs.com) for restaurants but have also planted 2000Phoenix vines (planted 2010) and approx 100 Pinot Gris (2011).  These are young vines so they needed ’training’ rather than hard pruning at this stage.  The vineyard is south facing with superb views towards Dartmoor and Woodbury Common but this also means that it is exposed to the wind so, after the appalling weather between April and mid July, these vines had taken quite a battering.  However, when the fruit does come ‘on line’, the air currents will keep mildew, botrytis etc (these plant diseases thrive in our climate) at bay so there will be healthy grapes needing minimal intervention from fungicides/herbicides.  The vineyard is surrounded by mixed usage farmland so there is a rabbit infestation problem… these vines are not living a life of pampered luxury!

The job involved hacking back any unwanted shoots/spurs until left with a strong upright vine and two healthy canes, spread in opposite directions and tied onto the support wires.  Anything else is severed from the vine (the ground was littered with cuttings by the time we’d finished) and the rabbit proof ‘tree guards’ are then replaced. Any grape clusters are culled so that the vine puts its vigour into continued growth rather then bearing fruit.  However, once it’s old enough to start producing fruit, the roles are reversed so you get less ‘tree’ but more big, juicy grapes!  Move on to the next vine and repeat…and repeat…and repeat.  It sounds monotonous but the vines are not a uniform size or shape so there is a surprising degree of ‘creativity’.  At first, the work is slow and very deliberate but you soon spot what needs to be done as you approach each vine and then it’s a speedy snip, snip, tie, snip, fold, snip and onto the next one.

It’s very sociable work and much laughter and ‘banter’ could be heard all day, especially as people got more practiced and were less stressed about hacking off the wrong bits.  Janice and Ivan (aka Brian Aldridge) laid on food and lashings of grog for the ‘workers’, most of whom had brought their families. Whilst the adults pruned, the children promptly went feral and then ate nearly all the food before the workers could get anywhere near it…grrrrrr!

I have traipsed around a lot of vineyards but I learned more about practical viticulture from a single day of hacking at young vines.  Perhaps it ought to be mandatory for anybody coming into the wine trade to put in a few days of pukka hard graft in a English vineyard, getting dirt under their nails, crud in their hair, being bitten by insects and stung by nettles?

Filmed at Otter Nurseries and starring two of the CPW team this is a slightly ‘tongue in cheek’ promo for our delicious German Riesling Offer now on our Website.

Both Chris P and myself completed our 55 mile bike ride for Force Cancer Charity on Sunday.  The event was well organised (the feeding stations were fun, especially the cheese and pickle sandwiches at 35 miles) and the route was clearly marked so there was no excuse for getting lost.  Then, after the horrible summer that we’ve endured so far, the sun decided to shine and everybody looked happy!

I briefly saw Chris and his ‘posse’ at the pre-ride breakfast (kedgeree or porridge) but we cycled the route separately; Chris in a group with his friends whilst I huffed and puffed along with whoever was going at my speed at any given time.  It was a wonderful ride, apart from Longdrag Hill (ugh and double ugh!), through some glorious ‘undulating’ Devon countryside and, for the most part, on quiet country roads.  I did the last six miles ‘fixed’ onto the rear wheel of two considerably quicker female riders (purely for motivational purposes, I assure you) and actually rode to the finish ’molto rapidamente’.

These ‘sportive’ rides are great fun and I can recommend anybody who likes cycling to up-grade to an event like this. Of course, the reason for the bike ride is to raise money for cancer treatment, not idly wobble around Devon roads, and this year’s ride has so far raised approx £ 40,000.

Now, it’s time to start looking for another ‘sportive’ in a month or so!

Eyes fixed on the weather forecast, Chris and myself are now waiting for pedal-off (or whatever the appropriate term is) on our 55 mile ride at 08:30 on Sunday morning in the company of 1,098 other cyclists.  Chris, who has completed this event before, has cruised around East Devon’s roads, practicing on the nasty uphill bits so that he can crest Longdrag Hill (what an evil sounding name to a cyclist) in style.  I have taken a different approach and concentrated on building up enough mileage to ensure that my derriere can actually cope with 55 miles.  I’ve avoided the big hills as I detest them but, unfortunately, that doesn’t make them disappear! Does anybody remember the utterly stupendous road laying machine in the “End of the Road” episode of Thunderbirds?  It carried nuclear warheads to blast through hills and then laid a perfectly flat motorway as it passed…complete with road markings.  I want one of those, I want it now and I don’t care how much it costs!

I did manage 30 miles last Sunday and then cycled into work on Monday, which is 13 miles each way.  However, I had forgotten that a container of South African wine was due into our warehouse.  Unfortunately, this container was not palletised (d’oh) so I helped to unload it by hand…that’s a lot of 16 kilo boxes.  The last mile of my ride home is uphill and felt particularly ’challenging’.

If anybody would like to know more about the Force Cancer Charity, which supports oncology services at The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, or make a donation, then you can visit their website at forcecancercharity.co.uk.

News from the finishing line to follow next week!

Chris is still pedalling away with a Buddha like serenity but Nemesis has wreaked havoc with my plans.

The day after I posted the blog, I was gardening for my Mum (aka Hyacinth Bucket) when I ripped a lumbar muscle.  It left me doubled over in pain like a scrunched up version of Rodin’s Thinker.   My mother charged into the garden, not to offer help but to give me a rocket for swearing.  I vaguely remember hearing phrases such as “there are members from the bowling club living in this road” and ”I don’t want the postman hearing that sort of language from this house!”  I somehow managed to drive home, dumped the car in the nearest available space and hobbled into the house to grab a bucket or three of painkillers.  ½ hour later, my neighbour found a parking ticket slapped on my car.  Aaarghh!

Then, last Saturday and after missing the chance to cycle all through this lovely spell of weather, I had to get back on my bike for a short ride, just to see if the back could cope.  I got onto a flat stretch of cyclepath near the river, gave it some grunt and….a dog ran under my front wheel and catapaulted me over the handlebars!  I miraculously managed to avoid breaking any bones but my back (along with my front, sides, top and bottom!) got thumped again.  My poor bike also took a major hit in the process…it’s currently being repaired and I’m not looking forward to getting the bill.  As for the dog…well, it wasn’t there when I eventually scraped myself off the ground.  It was probably already back home, eating tasty doggy treats and sniggering away like Muttley!

So, if I can hoist my aching body back onto the bike next weekend, it will be an uphill struggle (it always feels uphill on a bike) to get enough training done before the 55 mile ride.  Watch this space!