Vintage in the Vale – Part 2

At the winery where I work, everything is kept immaculately clean. With one exception: the staff  [see example below – JR].

The simple guideline is: after using anything, wash everything. Each and every piece of kit gets cleaned until gleaming, providing a distinct contrast to the growing grubbiness of the cellar hands as the day wears on.

By the end of the afternoon, the workers are as dirty as their jokes were at morning tea. Hands are stained black, faces caked with grime, but the worst offender is the grape detritus: skins and pips. They get everywhere. For hours after...