Could there be anything more exciting than the start of a new wine harvest?

At both production seats of the Graham Beck wine empire (‘four farms, three regions’), vineyard and cellar workers get so worked up about the new crush that they organise, at their own initiative, a colourful and cheerful procession when the first grapes come in.

Last week, on a chirpy Wednesday morning, a load of pinot noir (in perfect nick, berry-rounded, ready for whole-bunch pressing as bubbly base wine) was accompanied by vuvuzela ambience and colourful enthusiasm at the Franschhoek winery. A week earlier, the same down-to-earth Bacchanalian celebration announced Robertson’s first intake.

To be around for these events, was to be at a great family gathering of ritual and verve. It is also a glorious reality check about the nature of wine itself, and the human connection with it all.

There’s hard, hard work (vineyard and cellar), but a close-up, being-there, clearly shows a strong commitment of belonging and ownership among the people that get stuck in. (With the Robertson winery turning twenty this year, the crew brags a remarkable history of good worker relationship and resource management.)

In the vineyard, on the Robertson-hot harvest afternoon, a quiet Joseph Plaatjies - 2009’s national farm worker-of-the-year - was overseeing his team, breaking out leaves. In the production cellar, four very keen cellar rats (not yet showing less of the enthusiasm that will be overtaken by exhaustion later) were under the watchful eyes of Irene Waller and Benna Smal. Praise Dlamini (current CWG protégé), local Lusanda Tshanga, Thierry- Manuel Hubert from Champagne and Elizma Conradie were energy personified.

At four o’clock all gather in the small office where cellar master Pieter Ferreira had lined up the tank samples of what’s in. In a brisk pace of sniff, taste and split, all try and comment. It’s a riveting experience to taste juice-into-wine at this stage. There’s chardonnay and pinot noir, each tank tasting different. Lime and grapefruit on the chardonnay and fresh strawberries on the pinot. Some samples are readily marked for future use. Viticulturist Marco Ventrella points out the blocks harvested for the juice. Instructions are given to the estagiers to make minor adjustments. The process will now be repeated every second day. As the crush wears on, the line-up will, naturally, get longer and longer.

Next door, a cloud of dry-ice protects the free-run juice draining from the massive rolling press. The flowing, pink juice is delicious.