Throughout Term 1 the Year 10 Biology and Agricultural Science students have undertaken duties to care for the grape vines in the McAuley Park Farm. This year the harvest day arrived in mid-March and our staff and students were excited to be part of a great day of applied learning.
Our College is fortunate to again be working with and receiving the support and guidance of Dr Andrea Roberts-Davison, who is a Viticulture and Winemaking lecturer at the Melbourne Polytechnic. Dr Roberts-Davison was able to join us on the harvest day along with one of her students, Callum Rutherford. They are pictured below with some of our students in the vineyard. They both shared interesting insights into the process of viticulture and winemaking with our students.
Below is a reflection from Year 10 students Tennille P (Year 10 Red) and Portia R (Year 10 Blue):
Our Year 10 Biology and Agricultural Science classes harvested the grapes in our vineyard on Tuesday 19 March to start turning them into wine. With the help of ‘Dr Rob’ (Dr Andrea Roberts-Davison) and the many teachers, we completed the task in only one day. In our previous Biology and Agriculture classes we were taught many techniques and what the process of making wine is. We learned how the plant grows and how to produce the highest quality wine from the grapes. We tested the pH and sugar levels to determine when to harvest the grapes and what we needed to add to the mixture. We had to run many tests during the ripening process of the grapes and learned how to taste and look for the perfect grapes to use. The harvest day was a fun and exciting experience. We experienced the process first-hand which added to our knowledge of the winemaking process and what work is involved in the industry.
