About me: Jim Jim is my name. I'm known as Jim for short. I work in Hugh Hamilton's Winery in McLaren Vale in South Australia. I started at the bottom of the ladder when I was very young but fairly soon after found my niche in the vineyard. I'd categorise myself as a viticulturist now. I don't have a formal education so you could say I'm "on the job" trained.
The question of ethnicity on Myspace had me vexed. I don't think of myself in those terms. That's what leads to problems. To clear up the question, however, for the record I'm half Kelpie and half Labrador.
A viticulturists job is like the seasons..very varied. We have a busy season which is spring through to Fall. This is when the vines are growing rapidly leading up to vintage which is when the grapes are picked. Once this occurs, which is around February through to the end of April, we have a quiet time for about 6 weeks when we're off again with the pruning season in winter. It all starts again in spring.
Hugh relies on me in two main areas. I keep the birds off the grapes in the 8 weeks prior to harvest. The main pest is the Starling. These can swarm in the '000's and take up to a tonne per acre so vigilance is required. The starlings tend to go for our white grapes first so I spend a lot of time in the vineyards keeping them away.
I often see kangaroos out there as well. They don't do a lot of damage but I can't help myself from chasing them away. It's the sport rather than the need.
My main task is testing the maturity of the grapes so Hugh knows when to start picking. If the grapes are not fully ripened then the wine will not be of high enough quality. This is bad news for us. We have a reputation for great wines so harvest dates are critical. I start tasting/ testing in early February for about 4 weeks prior to picking. Once I actually start to eat the grapes Hugh knows it is time to crank up the vintage.
I have a web site where you can see me at work. The address is www.jimjim.com.au Have a look at it and send me an email sometime.
I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
Who I'd like to meet: People who like being outdoors, wine, dogs, food, birds. I'll talk to anyone
