For the Bellevue hotel, I went to do the harvest in a large estate in Cassis a few kilometers from Marseille, with a magnificent view of Cape Canaille. Two weeks and a few cuts with pruning shears later, I'm telling you the story of a not-easy job that still has some good sides.
Meet at 8 a.m. at the estate. Not another minute. Around twenty grape pickers work with me. There are locals, Portuguese, Tunisians of all ages. Everyone has their own bucket, everyone has their pruning shears, everyone packs into the mini-bus and the two trucks: direction the Cassis vineyards. They talk, they laugh, but as soon as the door opens, they're off for an eight-hour day. Every morning, it's the same routine.
I am a cutter, I am the one who will cut and collect the bunches of grapes. Two by two, we place ourselves on a line of vines. Secateurs in hand, we cut and throw our bunches into a bucket. It is the porters who are responsible for collecting these buckets and emptying them into bins which are stacked on the trucks which then go to the press.
Broken back, but dream setting
After a few vines, you feel your muscles pulling, you try to bend your knees but most of the time, you have no choice, you bend your back and I guarantee you that it stings after eight hours! Still, the setting is incredible, the morning offers us a splendid sunrise over the nearby Cape Canaille. Even if I tan (a little too much) quickly under the Provence sun, I tell myself that I work outdoors and that many of you dream of a work environment like that!
Book your room at the Bellevue hotel to taste the best wines of the region and in particular those of Cassis.
