September Wine-making, Dateline Milna

Up at six to hit the slopes. . . vineyard slopes, that is . . . with Ivo
and his brother-in-law, Spiro . . .one vineyard, secluded among the
hills not too far from our village, as a bonus had some plump and
delicious figs too. . . then down to the other end of the island, near
Bol, where the best wine grapes grow and where - down an ever narrowing
dirt road that clings to the hillside above the sea - Ivo has a small,
true, very wonderful 'villa rustica' that he is working on, complete
with a tiny vineyard sloping down to the sea and a horizon full of
sailboats and Hvar. There, with a little help from a knowledgeable
neighbor and his sons, we were able to complete the harvest and mash the
grapes for primary fermentation . . . (This is a big experiment, Ivo's
first time making wine, although his dad did routinely, of course. But,
as a small child trying to help, Ivo accidentally 'destroyed' a vine.
His father said, "No, Ivo, you must love the vine." and after that never
let him help.) . . . then back home for a carnivores delight feast of
grilled meat and inexpensive red wine in a carton from Macedonia . . .
This was a 'red wine' grape day; on Tuesday, we go back to the nearby
vineyard above Sutivan for the white wine grapes . . .