The call came on a Friday ...  early, damned early.

"You can drink it, you can write about it but can you pick it?" the voice said. "Who is this?" we asked nervously reaching for the nearest knife......

Turns out we hadn't been transported on to the set of a Hitchcock film, it was just Darren Brown from Puddleduck wanting to see if we fancied picking some grapes. Michelle, who isn't afraid of work, jumped at the chance.

Bright and early the next day she reported for duty.

After some detailed instructions from Darren

She was hard at work along with the other keen pickers. 

"It was fun" Michelle said "I learnt early to have one bucket for the grapes and another to sit on, standing and bending kills your back!". It wasn't all fun though, she had to put up with Darren singing 'I heard it through the grapevine' and the bunches playing hide and seek. "They were wrapped around the vines or hidden by the leaves!" Michelle laughed.

After a few hours of effort all the grapes were harvested and sent to the good folk at Frogmore Creek to be turned into the next vintage of Puddleduck Sauvignon Blanc. So when you go to purchase the 2010 sauvignon blanc remember it was picked with a dose of winepunter love (if that doesn't make it taste good nothing will! - Ed).

All that was left was to sit and enjoy that richly rewarded lunch and wine put on by Darren and Jackie. Coincidently this was the time that PJ turned up. "Oh you're all finished ... darn ... ooh is that wine ..... "

Since that day we have been back to pick chardonnay and soon it's riesling and pinot. Having a bit more experience, what else have we learned?

It's a cardinal sin to leave the secateurs in a picking bucket. They can end up going through the crusher and damaging that very expensive piece of equipment. When this happens a winemaker is allowed to kill the picker who owns the offending tool. Trust me, no jury will convict under those circumstances and nor should they.

The vine canopy is not your friend. When picking white grapes it is possible to miss bunches that are hidden amongst the leaves. Apparently you have to drop and 'gimme 20' for every missed bunch. If you're ever asked to pick make sure you only agree when it's time for the pinot. Red grapes are easier because they stand out.

Finally we learned that while Darren has the admiration and respect of his pickers there is a dark side. "He ran me over!". "He crashed into my car!" "He nearly ran over Basil (world famous wine dog)!". Yes punters, if you are near Darren when he is driving anything with a petrol or diesel motor be afraid. Be very very afraid....

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