Down to the Wire!

The weather at Brunnenburg has been absolutely incredible lately. The warmth, along with a touch of humidity, has made it a pleasure to work past sundown.

Nik has recently planted new vines in the vineyard that are fungi resistant and able to grow without receiving any form of spraying. On Thursday, Nik and I spent time putting up wires and rods within the vineyard. Two of the wires will be used for netting (to prevent birds from feeding on the grapes) and irrigation.

In the distance, Nik makes sure that the posts are the same height. This is done to ensure that the wires are level and straight.

This device spun around as the wire was pulled.

The wires were then brought together and tightened.

The end result is a uniform, taut, and straight wire. 

After putting up the wire, we had to put in rods, which act as trellises for the vines. The only rods that Nik had were too short because they were bent. As a result, I spent the entirety of yesterday straightening out the rods. 

Getting Ourselves Back to the Garden

Now that the great internet outage of 2012 has ended (at least temporarily!), I can continue writing about my adventures!

The weather has been changing every day. It has been getting warmer and lighter outside. Today was extremely windy and a bit grey, but springtime is evident everywhere! I even started hearing some insects today! With this changing weather comes the need to gear up for gardening season. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been spending a lot of time doing different tasks in the garden.

On this day we were mulching and planting. We have been lucky to receive help and company from students Taylor and Caroline!

On another day, I spent time applying compost to different plants within the garden.

Now that the soil is built up and healthy, it's almost time to start seeing some delicious greens and pretty flowers!

Matters of Life and Death

While many things remain constant here at Brunnenburg, others are changing every second! Last Tuesday during workday, I was heading down one of the hills to check on the group that I was leading. On my way down, I decided to check on Grisa, a goat who had been pregnant for what seemed like forever. I had checked on her every day, hoping that "today would be the day!" To put it plainly, Tuesday was the day, and the moment I checked on her was the actual moment. I saw it all!

Grisa had two baby boys. Kelsey named one Galileo, and I named the other Gus (after a Paul Simon song that Kelsey, Nik, and I are always singing. Simon sings, "hop on the bus, Gus!").

Just moments after giving birth, Grisa took her time cleaning off her two kids!

A few days after giving birth, Gus and Galileo are now super fuzzy and adorable!

Galileo relaxing in Kelsey's lap.

While life is just beginning for these guys, this is not always the case on a functioning agricultural operation. On Thursday, Bella, a pig who has lived here for several years, was slaughtered and given to friends of the family. Bella had stopped giving birth to healthy pigs, and it was no longer feasible to keep her. The event was extremely intense for me, having been a vegetarian for ten years and a Jew for twenty-one years, but it is essential to recognize that Bella lived an extraordinarily happy life that consisted of lots of space to run around, a seemingly endless supply of raw noodles, daily massages from Kelsey, Brigitte, and I, and tons of delicious food scraps from the family and students!

Lastly, there are flowers everywhere! It seems that I wake up every morning to new colors outside my window. With the increased amount of sunlight comes an increased amount of time to work outside!

Sweet Wine

In early fall, grapes were harvested and then hung up in what is now my bedroom. These grapes were left for about five months, and were recently used to make sweet wine. This was the project that we worked on a few days ago.

I spent a long Sunday transporting the dried grapes from my room to the cellar. They were placed in a large tub, and sat there for several days. A small amount of wine was added to the tub.

Nik had worked on mashing the grapes a few days prior, and then I had a turn in the process.

I mashed the grapes while Nik pulled them up. This was a messy job that kept getting messier!

The grapes were then moved into a press. The balloon inside is hooked up to a hose and filled with water, causing the liquid within the grapes to seep through the sides of the press. We also tasted the grapes, which were sweeter than honey!

The liquid flows into a bucket, and is then transported into a tank to ferment. It will then become tasty sweet wine!

Either Kelsey decided to dress up as a shriveled grape, or it was very windy that day. I can't seem to remember...

According to Nik, the process of making sweet wine is arduous and time-consuming, which results in hefty pricing for the end product.

The First Workday

This past Wednesday marked the first "Student Workday," where the Green Mountain students spend the day doing tasks around the castle. This week's projects included moving and stacking wood, clipping vines that were pruned, and cleaning out the chicken coop.

Nik began the day by sharing the Goldmustkateller that he produces. According to Nik, white wine gives one a "push," or kick, to start off his or her day.

My job was to lead the students in cleaning the chicken coop and stacking wood. The day consisted of a lot of walking between the two areas.

Caroline and Hannah did a great job cleaning out the coop!

The wood stackers!

I thought that the workday was very successful. This group is filled with great and motivated workers. I look forward to the next one!

One of the aspects of this internship that has been most important to me is the opportunity for humor. When work needs doing, it is done with seriousness and vigor. However, when the chances arise, everyone is always looking for a good laugh. This has been especially true of Kelsey, Nik, and I, and it has been a huge morale booster. I am lucky to work in an environment where jokes (and pranks!) are enjoyed at the appropriate times. Though maybe they aren't pranks, and Nik is just concerned about us getting tired in the shower...

...and maybe we are just concerned about him getting tired while making wine.

"What a cold and rainy day, where on earth is the sun hid away?"

Today was cold and rainy! I began my morning in the Goldmuskateller section of the vineyard. Nik is in the process of getting rid of this variety, so I have been cutting the vines from their trellises.

In the afternoon, the rain became even heavier. Nik instructed Kelsey and I to label and seal the wine that he had bottled this morning. The wine was Goldmuskateller from 2010.

After the bottles were corked, we labeled them.

We then placed plastic wrappers on top of the bottles.

The plastic is then heated, which causes it to shrink tightly around the neck and cork.

The finished product is a beautiful bottle of wine!

Of course, it is always essential to try the product you are working with....

Cin cin!

The Students Have Arrived!

Late last night, the new group of Green Mountain College students arrived at the castle. They will live, study, and work here for the next three months of their lives.

Today after morning chores, I was planning on cutting kindling and working in the vineyard. However, Brigitte and Nik suggested that I go with Kelsey and the students down to Meran to show them around.

The fourteen new students learned the way down to the city of Meran.

Kelsey and I have been providing them with tons of information. Hopefully they will remember everything!