Harvest Time!

The wind has gotten a little chilly as of late, and the warmth of the sun has started to dissipate slightly, with only bursts of warm energy occurring from time to time. The rain is cool and the leaves from the trees are starting to pile on the ground. Yes, fall has finally arrived, to the delight of some and the chagrin of many. But the coming of fall does signal one exciting (yet busy) time of year for us at Cox Creek. The Harvest!  The apples on all the trees at the side of the laneway are ripe and most have already fallen to the ground. It's quite a beautiful site, as hundreds of apples lay motionless on the ground.
It is another cold and wet day as I survey the wondrous picture in front of me and ponder how I am going to begin the daunting task of picking them all up. I bend over, empty pail in hand, and start to sift through the apples, picking up the good ones and discarding the ones that have begun to rot. It's a job that is hard on the back, but it is also a job that is very rewarding. Once gathered, these apples will be stored in the cooler until the time is right for us to begin making wine out of them. That is the fun part of course, and there is no more rewarding feeling then when the apples eventually become wine, are bottled, and put on the shelf for it to be sold.
Most of these apples will eventually become our famous and award-winning (and absolutely delicious) Apple Dream wine, which I hope that you can all come and enjoy for yourself. I can almost taste the finished product as I savour the smell of the fresh apples, and finish picking up the last apple, satisfied with a job well done. Despite the cool, rainy and windy weather, I am happy that fall has finally arrived.