Life on a Vineyard

In this blog post you will be reading about life on the vineyard, my older siblings, and life with my dogs. The vineyard is called Apolloni Vineyards, and it’s it’s in the Willamette Valley in Forest Grove, Oregon. My dogs are Samson, 11, a black Lab mix, and Etch, 18 months, a black doberman pinscher with brownish-red patches on his chest and temples. With my older siblings gone at college, my dogs help keep me company when I get lonely.

It’s quiet on the vineyard because it’s large piece of land, and neighbors are somewhat far away. When you’re working on a vineyard, everyone needs to chip in, or the work does not get done. I have multiple jobs. One job is to pick out leaves on the conveyor belt assembly line. The leaves then go into a bin for compost. The worst part about being on the assembly line is that my hands get wet and cold, and I sometimes get stung by a wasp or two. The best part is getting to eat the grapes, even if they are bad! I also like punch-downs because we get to use a humongous plunger to smash the grapes until a foamy layer forms on top. I also help my mom make food for the workers and for people who come for tours. My mom is also in charge of the tasting room. My Dad does the most on the vineyard. He is in charge of all the wine-related processes, like the fermentering bins, the types of barrels used for each type of wine and how many times they have been used. He also manages the workers. There is a cave where we put barrels, drums, tanks, and kegs. We go in there to check on stuff every month or so and top them off. On the vineyard we work 7 days a week, early in morning for picking (in the fall) when it’s hot outside. This is what life on a vineyard is like.

My older siblings, Laura and Adolfo are away at college, so that changes the way the house and the vineyard feels. Being an only child at home for the past year has been weird because I’m used to being with people all the time. My sister is at Santa Clara University in California, and my brother is at University of Michigan. At home, it’s lonely, and I do more work on the vineyard to make up for my siblings being away. It’s also a lot more stressful because I’m the only here to do chores and I have more responsibilities now. This is how my life has changed now that my older siblings are both away at college.

Dogs are a big part of life on the vineyard, and they help me feel less lonely when i miss my brother and sister. Samson is a Black Labrador mix. He is a big snuggle buddy on the couch or on the bed. He seems like an “emotional support dog” for me. Etch is a Doberman. He is very crazy and loves to run, which is a good thing because he’s on a farm. These dogs are a big part of my life on the vineyard from being snuggle buddies to working dogs.

Living on a vineyard is not just fun and games. We have to do hard work to get the final product, wine. Not having siblings around all the time can be both disappointing when I feel overwhelmed with chores, or a blessing when I need the quiet and calm. Dogs are super fun, but they can also be a challenge because we need to train them. Telling them to stay at the house even if I want them there with me can sometimes an be hard to do. There are pros and cons to living on a vineyard, but doing it with my family makes it all worthwhile.