First 2018 grapes crushed this morning – dry grown Shiraz from Light Pass in the Barossa Valley. The fruit had beautiful blackberry flavours with a touch of spice, and if the colour in the crusher is anything to go by, we’re in for a really good vintage.

According to the lunar calendar, today is a ‘fruit day’. People have farmed by the lunar calendar for centuries, recognising that the moon’s gravitational pull has an impact on how water is drawn up or recedes in plants. Kind of like the influence the moon has on the tides, but on a smaller scale.

The position of the moon relative to the stars is also said to have an influence. Each constellation is associated with one of the four elements: earth, water, air or fire. The elements, in turn, correspond to a certain part of the plant. So as the moon moves through the different constellations, it influences the flow of water between different parts of the plant.

Earth constellations Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn favourably influence roots. Water constellations Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces affect the leaves. Air constellations Gemini, Libra and Aquarius influence flowers. And fire constellations Aries, Leo and Sagittarius positively impact fruit and seeds. As it takes the moon a few days to pass through each of the different constellations, the lunar month is made up of a series of “root days”, “leaf days”, “flower days” and “fruit days”.

The best day to harvest your radishes is on a root day. And the best day to pick grapes, and for that matter, the best day to drink wine, is on a fruit day. We can’t always make the timing work perfectly to be able to pick only on fruit days, but we’re very happy when the stars (and moon) align to get the best out of our fruit. Does it work? Who knows? But anecdotally I’d have to say yes 🙂

Here’s to a great start to vintage!