AN AUSTRALIAN VINTAGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8476, 29 January 1891, Page 3

AN AUSTRALIAN VINTAGE.

[by gaberlunzie.] To these who derive their notions of a vintagetfrom the pictures of the ancienb op. modern masters, from the poems of the Greek or Latin poets, oreven-from theeonga of modern rhymsters, who surround their subjects -wjth the " dazzling rays of the light that never was on sea or land," the description of a vintage in Victoria, Australia, may come with something of asbock. But truth compels us at' once to say that the proceedings at the ingathering of the grapes in Australia are of the mo3b prosaic description, involving continuous toil under a burning sun, and almost entirely devoid of the jocund character that is supposed to attend the vintage season in the land of the saraband, the tarantella, and the can-can. It is the ambition of the antipodes to compete with the effete countries ot Europe in the production everything hitherto considered peculiar totho latter continent, and viticulture is but one of many branches of industry in which Australia hopes some day to lick creation. Certainly the hope-:is not without justification, although there are other climes, such as California, South Africa, and not least, if the Government and people would only awake to the potent tialities of the soil, the North Island of New Zealand, which may prove formidable competitors. In this hemisphere, Victoria at present takes the lead in the wine industry, and although her vineyards have suffered much from the ravages of the phylloxera, her viticulturists still persevere, their efforts being liberally seconded by the government, which never utilised the protective policy of the colony to better acivarv tage. Ib has appointed specialists t* visit the grape-producing districts, and advise and help by experienced counsel those*wlH> are trying to develop the resources of-the soil. There is no district better adapted for 'the cultivation of the vine than the land lying around the mountain slopes that stretch away from the waters of the Upper Yarra. Beautiful exceedingly for situation are-the valleys, backed by lofty hills, whore in stately splendour are unrolled before the glittering beams of the sunrise the columns of fleecy clouds that harvested during the tranquil night upon their summits. The soil of those valleys is varied, but everywhere rich, as the excellent cropa testify. Sleek kine may be seen knee-deep in grass on the flats, that the winter floods sometimes cover, and on the uplands of Sfe. Hubert's the verdanb leaves of the vines and the golden and purple clusters of -the grapes make one think of the valleys -<«f the Rhine, the natal home of the fruib that produces the inspiring nectar fam.oua-s.-in story and song. The vintage commences ab Sb. Hubert's about the beginning of March. Thithec from all quarters, mostly from Melbourne, 35 miles distant, wend their way for the grape-picking crowds of men, in the hope of earning a few pounds. Sb. Hubert's alone employ at vintage aboub 150 men, and the ingathering and crushing of the grapes usually extends over a period of six weeks. Grape-picking is not considered ..a laborious occupation, bub the heat renders it sufficiently toilsome. It is at firsb a little sore on the back, the long-w-aiated individuals experiencing most inconvenience -from the stooping attitude necessary in handling the clippers, an instrument of' the scissore kind which is used to sever the clusters from the vine branches. Every man is supplied with a pair of clippers and a metal bucket, into which he throws-tha fruit as ib is cut. The buckets, when fuQ,, are emptied into a wooden vessel called-a " drum," shaped like a cask, bub concave on one side. The "drum" is strapped on to the shoulders of the more stalwart of the hands, and is carried by them when full to the dray which waits ab one of the intersecting paths of the vineyards until ita cargo is complete, when its load is transported to tho cellars, there bo be transformed after many processes into red or white wine. The crushing is done by machinery, huge vats receiving the sweet jufce as it streams forth, which will produce nob only wine, but vinegar, brandy, and methylated-spirits. St. Hubert's produces annually about 80,000 gallons of wine ot various degrees , <A strength, bub all unexceptionable in quality. Its brands are esteemed even in the London market, and are unexcelled in the colonies. The labourers in the vineyard are kept incessantly at work from 6.30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with an interval of an hour for dinner. As they are all of the sterner sex, there is no-op-porbnniby for the sweet interchange that makes labour light, when " Johnnie, blithe and gay," can kies the fair co-parbner-of his toil, or be cheered and beguiled by the-thrill-ings of a Ruth, " gleaming amid the alien corn. , ' There can be but little of romance without; the presence of women, and ib must be their company that lends European countries the attractions which poets-and artists have painted as being the usual accompaniments of vintages and harvest] fields. In Australia everything is looked at from a strictly utilitarian point of view, and even bhe Galifornian miner, as pourbrayed by Brete Harte, has no representative at antipodes. Scanning the hands who gather the grapes ab St. Hubert's,,one fails to find amongst them one with the traits of the ideal station hand as painted by the Australian novelist. They are-rnosidy denizens of the purlieus of Melbourne, to whom an outing at St. Hubert's is a godsend after a prolonged period of semistarvation in Litbie Bourke-sbreeb. The remuneration is nob high, 12s a week~to pickers and 15s per week to those who carry the drum and found. Bub with .a cheque for £3 in his pocket the waif of Melbourne finds himself a hero at the bar of his favourite hotel in the metropolis, , and with an admiring crowd of " old pals" willing to pledge his health in long sleevera i till the £3 is exhausted and he becomes a sadder and a wiser man. , A goodly number of foreigners are comprised in the contingent at St. Hubert's vintage—ltalians, French, Germans, and Swiss. They lend the only colouring in ' the motley group. They incessantly 1 chatter in many tongues to their coml; patriots, and their attire is always more ' picturesque than tho dilapidated garments '' bhab cover the body and limbs of bhe Anglo-colonial labourer. [ The accommodation for bhe pickers ia «p , to the general average of comfort, and the food, if plain, is plentiful. Three cooks minister to their bodily wants, and it is a lively picturo to see 150 men sitting a,b deal tables in the vast dining hall, consuming vasb loads of victuals to the accompaniment of the clattering of knives and forks and the jingling of plates and pannikins. The meal hour, especially supper, time, generally finds the hands in a sportive mood, and cheap witticisms and practical jokes usually abound. A few Chinamen come in for some mild humour, and the "oui,"the "ju,"and the " si, signore," of ! different nationalities mingle with the babel ; of sound that prevails until the meal ia ) over. Afterwards a squeaky flute or a . screeching concertina may be heard, mak- ', ing night hideous, bub nob for long. Tho I heab and burden of the day soon weighs r heavy on the eyelids and gentle sleep, at a j comparatively early hour, steeps the senses i in forgetfulness. i Even the final day of the vintage, when the last waggon load hies homeward, followed by the pickers, who will to-morrow , receive feheir cheques, is signalised by no outburst of merriment. The dance, the j procession, the crowning of Bacchus, the [ songs in his honour, may be still practised in older climes. Here they were never known, and nothing graceful enough for even a minor poet or obscure painter to , celebrate has been invented. The pickers send up a feeble shout-« 3 , they slowly walk through the paths of ."the ! sbripped vineyards, evoked perhaps by an J extra distribution of wine which bhe pro- ' prietor has generously given in addition.to j the daMy allowance of a pint, which is given bo each man. In the evening a few enterprising spirits 1 improvise a concert and a dance, bub there is a lack of enthusiasm, and the proceedings j are incontinently cub shorb. There is the f usual stand-up fight between two hands . who have cherished mutual animosiby during bhe season, and now sebble old scores by » giving an d receiving each a black eye. I Other times, other manners, and we have [ changed all the glorious festivals of ancienb , Christendom, with their gaiety and lighti heartedness, into dreary drudgery and dull j commonplace. j The morrow sees the pickers, some with 5 swags and some without, bub all with . money in their pocket, on their way to the nearest station, mostly en route for Mel- , bourne, whore the pitfalls inbo which many 1 guileless souls from the bush have already fallen are waiting to receive fresh victims.