There is nothing glamorous or romantic about hand-picking wine grapes, this I found out while on my intern stint picking thin skinned Malbec grapes at Stonewall Creek Vineyards over the week-end. Myself and a few other die-hards started picking at about 9:00 am on Saturday and about 1/4 of the way into it my only-child-syndrome kicked in and I thought, boy, they should hire somebody to do this, but then I remembered that's why I was there! I persevered and learned a few things. I learned the only thing great about hand-picking wine grapes is the joy of knowing that only the best selected grapes will go into that vintage and the anticipation of a wonderful wine to come. You know, hand harvesting is a standard in most old world wine regions like Bordeaux, Loire and Germany. In fact, in some of those wine regions the vines are planted on steep slopes and the only way to harvest is by hand. Which brings me to another revelation....harvest time brings wine passionate people together. After picking we partook of a tradition that happens in most Italian vineyards, the harvest feast.
We feasted on sheep’s milk cheese zucchini lasagna, sliced tomatoes with mozzarella and olive oil, and local French bread. The vegetables were grown from the garden next to the vineyard and the bread was from the local baker. Oh, and with the meal we shared a Malbec from Argentina, Catena 2006, imported by Billington Wines, Springfield, VA. All of this meal sharing was done while overlooking this beautiful vineyard....... I have to say.... it was worth it! 
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