For Grape Harvesters, Tough Job is Worth It

Lucia Cruz quickly cut another cluster of grapes, turning the bunch over with her sticky juice-stained gloves and clipping away the inferior fruit. Without looking or slowing down, she tossed the cluster into the yellow plastic bin at her feet and moved on to the next batch.

"It's hard work," she said as she tossed another bunch of grapes into a bin.

Each year dozens of men and women, some in their 20s and some older, spend weeks helping to pick tons of different grapes from the vines. On Thursday, the harvest was just wrapping up at Roanoke Vineyards, where about two dozen harvesters were finishing the last few rows of cabernet sauvignon grapes.

Jesus De Jesus, a 13-year veteran of the grape harvest, said the job wasn't easy work. Roanoke Vineyards is very selective about their grapes, and the harvesters need to be careful to choose the right grapes to collect, he said. The thick vines on certain types of grapes also make things difficult, he said.

"When you're pruning the trunk, sometimes you'll break the clippers," de Jesus said.

De Jesus began working at Roanoke and Wolffer Vineyards as a grape picker in 1998.

"When I began, I started with no English," de Jesus said. Now he is one of the harvest managers, helping the vineyard owners coordinate the dozens of harvesters in the fields.

Even though the harvest is a part-time job, De Jesus now shares the same passion for growing as the winemakers; he held up different grapes and explained how each needed to be picked or trimmed in a certain way to get the "cleanest and nicest" grapes.

The managers at Roanoke said they appreciate his help and effort.

"He's absolutely amazing," said Roanoke Vineyards Media and Creative Director Scott Sandell. "He's got to be the strongest man I know."

While de Jesus was one of a few harvesters to move up in the ranks, many were new to the harvest.

Carlos Estrada, of Riverhead, works as a landscaper during the year, but like Lucia, he started working on the harvest this year after a friend reccomended him for the job.

Estrada, a native of Guatemala is studying English at Suffolk County Community College. The harvest, he said, is another way to make ends meet.

"It's another job, you know?" he said.