High Five Seresin #1

Two hours later we found ourselves in the midst of countless vineyards. After a brief introduction with J., the Vineyard Manager, and an agreement to send all necessary documents during the day, we should start the next day. Caro was pretty sure she had the job in the bag, but Tim wasn't quite so confident. We spent our last day as unemployed in the nearby town of Blenheim, strolling around and enjoying the great weather.

The next morning, the alarm clock rang at 5 o'clock. A little tired, we made our way from the nearby free campground to the Seresin Vineyard. We really enjoyed the ten-minute car ride there. It continuously passed by different wineries. On the right and left, thousands of grapevines could be seen, mountains marked the boundaries on the horizon. Marlborough Wine Country is considered the largest wine growing region in New Zealand. You can easily imagine driving for a while and feeling as if someone had pressed copy and paste frequently 😉. Now to the first day of work. First, we received a little history lesson and the usual safety instructions and some signatures were also required. Typically German, Caro and I studied these a bit more thoroughly than usual. After a few questions, we were ready to start. Vineyard Manager J., an extremely lively guy of Brazilian origin, showed us his workplace. 155 thousand trees of different grape varieties in many fields and rows, well there should be enough for us to do, right? We drove around in a Ute, as the Kiwi calls it, which was quite bumpy. In addition to the grapes, there were also olive trees and some crazy animals. For example, the goats, lovingly named Pablo, who constantly escaped from their enclosure to indulge in the sweet grapes or the plants in the vegetable garden. Catching them and driving them back proved to be extremely difficult, as Tim can attest. There were also some sheep, cattle, and two pigs named Bacon and Prosciutto. Yes, those were really their names. There were also happy chickens, with two very aggressive roosters and four quacking ducks constantly looking for food. You can even imagine it as a little farm right in a vineyard.

We were overwhelmed by the first sight and at the same time curious about the kind of work that awaited us. Together with the French backpacker L., who has been working here for some time, we took our future work vehicle, a Mule (unfortunately not a donkey, but a kind of golf car), to Block Osip. This is where the heart of Seresin grows, the Pinot Noir. Our task for the next few weeks was to close nets that were already draped over the grapevines. These served as bird protection. That meant walking up and down the hill for nine hours a day and doing a squat every three meters. With over 28 degrees Celsius and bright sun, we reached our limits. Of course, we noticed the still very small and pink-colored grapes while working. But this obviously immature state didn't protect the fruit from Caro, who tasted it every day.

After the first day, we were already aware of how lucky we were to have this job. The team made a super fun and likeable impression, which made us feel very welcome. In addition, we were allowed to stay for free on the vineyard with Odhi and also use the toilet and kitchen in the lunch container. Since we didn't need accommodation, the car could serve its purpose and we had no additional costs except for our own meals. There were even days when we got meat from the cattle and, of course, wine. Things can change so quickly. A few days ago, we were thinking about returning to Germany and suddenly we found ourselves in such a wonderful place.

In the following days, the vineyard team grew as well. In addition to two Kiwis and the Frenchwoman, three more French people joined. Sometimes it didn't feel like New Zealand, but like a wine province in southern France. It was so much fun to work in an international team, and Caro practiced her English every day. Working with different cultures was very interesting, and we could learn a lot from it and pass on our knowledge as well. Some of the summer evenings were enjoyed with free beer and snacks.

The work with the nets became quite boring after the first few days, and we were glad when we got new tasks. These included "thinning", selecting the best fruits, taking care of the vegetable garden, and birdscaring, which involved scaring birds away from the vineyards. This task was done with our favorite vehicle, the Mule, and was a lot of fun, especially in the first few days. But over time, it seemed pointless and tiring, because the birds quickly returned, despite lively discussion about the best method. Instead, we found joy in chasing hares and pheasants between the grapevines.