Grape Harvest in Germany/ Weinlese in Deutschland

Lots of women in this picture... Where are the guys? I will start from the left going to the right. You see my sister Sabine, my mom's cousin Ludmilla (who we all referred to as Tante Luddi), my mom, my oldest sister Susanne, my second oldest sister Christine, my cousin Ellen, and me.

The little baby in the basket is my youngest sister Kathi. Kathi was born in 1972. The picture must have been around taken around 1973/74. Kathi couldn't walk yet. So when we went to harvest the grapes, we carried her, all bundled up in her cozy laundry basket, up and down the rows of the vinyard.
To put this picture in context, one has to understand that I grew up in the Nahe-river valley. It's one of many famous wine growing regions in Germany. My parents were not winegrowers themselves. My father inherited a couple of vineyards from his dad. We would harvest the grapes, and then my dad would sell them or trade them to one of the local winery's for some wine. Not quite sure how it all worked. Fact is, we had to go out in all kinds of weather and pick the grapes. It was hard work. Even more so when you had to carry little sis' up and down those steep hills...But I remember those days fondly - now that I am older.