U.S. Army Capt. Fred Lusk and vineyard owner Peter Nissen inspect some grapes. (Bill Neal/Stars and Stripes)
BOSENHEIM, Germany — Three humpers, three dumpers, and about a dozen pickers — all clad in soldier uniforms with MP brassards — directed operations in the vineyards of Peter and Marlena Nissen here earlier this week.
The soldiers, all from the 8th Inf Div's 8th MP Co, headquartered in nearby Bad Kreuznach, had volunteered to help the "little old wine-makers" of the Nahe River area harvest their grapes.
The pickers picked, and dumpers emptied their buckets of grapes into metal containers on the backs of the humpers who took them to large vats on wagons at the end of the rows.
Capt. Fred Lusk, CO of the 8th MP Co said, "Several of my men volunteered to help the local vintners pick their grapes; in fact more than I could spare from our daily commitments."
"Nissen insisted on paying each man 2.50 marks an hour, plus two hot meals a day, before he would let us set foot in his vineyards," said Lusk.
"We didn't do it for the money though. We just wanted to help some of the local people who right now are in urgent need of all the help they can get."
Extremely damp weather and fog, after a lengthy period of sunshine and generally fair weather, is hurrying the harvesting of the grapes, many of which are starting to mildew on the vines.
Also with the MPs in the "Paradise Field" — where the choice grapes of the season are grown — were several teen-aged girls from nearby villages who were having a school holiday.
S. Sgt. Wayne Ruffner, an MP on his fourth tour of duty in Germany and who now speaks fluent German said, "Next thing I'm going to do is see if I can get pro pay for this job, and maybe change my MOS to that of a grape picker supremo."
MPs check out some of the grapes they helped pick. (Bill Neal/Stars and Stripes)
A "dumper" empties a picker's bucket into a container carried by a "humper," who brings the grapes to a wagon. (Bill Neal/Stars and Stripes)
Grape-picking MPs in the field. (Bill Neal/Stars and Stripes)
"Humpers" line up to unload grapes onto a wagon. (Bill Neal/Stars and Stripes)
A local schoolgirl joins an MP in picking grapes. (Bill Neal/Stars and Stripes)
Sgt Gayn Jones serves as a "humper," bringing the grapes from the pickers to large vats placed on wagons. (Bill Neal/Stars and Stripes)
Ruffner, who has helped several times with the grape harvest, went on to say, "All kidding aside, I enjoy helping pick the grapes, because it's something a little different than in most Americans' lives, and it's helping someone who really needs help."
The soldiers started their day in the vineyard before 8 a.m. when "it was pretty chilly," according to several of the Pathfinder MPs.
"However, Marlena solved the problem by bringing out a large container of heated, spicy red wine that sorta got us in the spirit of things," said S. Sgt. Jackie Davis, who comes from Portland, Ore., where he says "there are no vineyards around."
Davis added, "One thing I like in helping pick the grapes is that one can sample all the big juicy sweet grapes you want while you're in the field, and they 'schmecken gut'."
When it came time for the noon meal, the MPs piled into their trucks and Peter and Marlena took them to a German restaurant in their town. The soldiers were treated to a meal of wiener schnitzel, broiled potatoes, red cabbage and all the wine they wanted.
Meanwhile, another employee of the Nissens' Goerz Winery was giving Lusk and several MPs a tour of the cellars where 70,000 liters of wine are stored in large wooden barrels.
The touring MPs were shown the processing plant, where the grapes are put through a mill that grinds them roughly without smashing the fine stems of the clusters.
They also saw the large hydraulic press, used at the winers since 1963 to press the juice from the grape mash. The juice is then piped to the cellars and into the large wooden barrels for the fermentation process.
Nissen explained that "from here on, the quality of the wine depends largely on the skill and know-how of the kellermeister. Utmost care, a stable temperature in the vaults and proper timing of the fermentation are of top importance in producing good wine."
Nissen also took the soldiers behind the building to see the 200-year-old wooden wine press he used until he got his hydraulic press.
Plc. Michael Herweh, a native of Bellevue, Ky., said, "I've never picked grapes before. In fact I didn't even know how or where they grew."
Lusk says he plans to take more of his MPs next week to help the vintners in the Nahe River area. He asked Nissen if he could possibly use as many as 50 men.
"No, not that many," Nissen answered. "My presses can handle only so many grapes in one day, and about 15 to 20 men give us all the grapes we can handle at the winery."
Nissen says that his winery, in existence since 1798, bottles some 40,000 bottles of wine each year and sells about the same amount in wooden kegs. "It takes a lot of work — about nine months — to tend to the vineyards and get the grapes harvested at the proper time for good wine."
