Almost
everyone kept a barrel in stock; some, who had vineyards, made the wine
themselves; others, bought it from "Batina", a village cradled close
to the Danube. In the Fall, we eagerly awaited "Weinlese"
(harvesting of the grapes), which was also an annual affair. My
Grandfather, Nikolaus Brandt, had a sizeable vineyard not far from Gakowa.
When the time for "Weinlese" came, he called all of us to
help. For us kids it only meant fun and play. The only work we did
was eat - grapes and more grapes. The older folks each had a
container and a knife
and proceeded to cut off the clusters
of pearls from
their beds on the grapevine.
As soon as
the container was filled
to the brim, it was emptied into large barrels and delivered to the house on a
horse-drawn wagon. There, Grandmother, Julianna, cooked a big meal, and
we all sat around the large table and received our reward
for the help. A truly rewarding picture to see is the sunny slopes
striped with
tall vines jeweled by clusters of bursting grapes - ripe with
sweetness. The care and attention a vineyard needs, keeps one quite busy
during most of the year. The rain and wind tear down vines, which have to be bound up again. About three times a year,
the vines had to be sprayed to prevent destruction from
harmful insects.
© Courtesy
of Katherine
Flotz "Gakowa
Memories"
The
vineyards of
Seketsch are
hard call in quantitative as well as qualitative respects, nevertheless
the owners made all possible efforts with them. The vineyards
are also often filled with fruit trees such as apple, pear, sour cherry,
nut, and peach trees. ©
Seketsch
Ortsippenbuch
