§5.1One address
Write to Us
Marta reads every message herself and replies within two working days. There is no other way in, and that keeps things simple: one address, one person, answers in the order they arrive.
After the first reply, things move on a fixed clock. The five steps of a job, from this message to the signed tally sheet, are set out in Report 01, How a job runs, and you can read about who comes out to walk the parcel in Report 04.
- First reply
- Within two working days of your message.
- Parcel walk
- Within 7 days of that reply. Free within 40 km of Logroño. We count a sample row and look at the training system.
- Written quote
- Within 3 working days of the walk, per vine or per worker-hour, valid for 30 days.
- Booking
- Pruning by 30 November, canopy work by 15 April, a harvest week window by 31 July.
§5.2Before the walk
What to Put in Your First Message
Six facts let us plan the walk and size the crew. Put them all in the first message and we can skip a round of questions.
Specimen M-01 · First message
6 lines
Six Lines Before the Walk
- Village The village nearest the parcel, for example Fuenmayor or Laguardia.
- Parcel size, in hectares or vine count Either is fine: 2.2 ha, or about 7,900 vines.
- Variety Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Viura, or a mix in the same rows.
- Training system Bush vine, cordon royat or Guyot. Say if the vines went in before 1970.
- Which work Winter pruning, canopy work or harvest picking, or more than one.
- Rough dates The second half of January, or the week your sugar usually comes in.
Not sure what your training system is called? The three we prune are drawn and explained in Report 02, Methods. If the vines are tied in some way of your own, describe it and we will see on the walk.
Before you write, check the minimums in Report 03, Rates and terms: 2,000 vines for pruning, one half day with 4 workers for canopy work, and one full day with 8 pickers at harvest. Smaller jobs are better done with a neighbour.
§5.3Logroño time
Hours, Office and Field
Messages are read in office hours. The crew keeps field hours, which start earlier in summer to stay ahead of the heat.
| What | Days | Hours | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| EmailRead and answered | Monday to Friday | 8:00-14:00 16:30-19:00 |
All year, outside closures |
| Email, harvest Saturdays | Saturday | 9:00-12:00 | Mid September to late October |
| Crew in the fieldWinter hours | Monday to Friday | 8:00-15:30Almuerzo at 10:30 | Outside June to August |
| Crew in the fieldSummer hours | Monday to Friday | 7:00-14:30 | June to August |
| Crew at harvest | Monday to Saturday | Day fixed 3 to 5 days aheadOnce you have sugar readings | Mid September to late October |
| Sundays | Sunday | Closed | All year, harvest included |
| Closures | Every day | Closed | 3-17 November 24 December-6 January |
Write whenever suits you. A message sent on a Sunday or at midnight is simply read with the first batch of the next working morning.
§5.4Up to 90 km
Where We Work
The vans leave from Logroño, La Rioja, and go as far as 90 km out across Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and the near end of Rioja Oriental.
Travel is included in the rate for any parcel within 40 km of Logroño. From 40 to 90 km we charge €0.45 per km per van, counted from Logroño and back. Each van carries 9, so a crew of 8 travels in one van and a crew of 12 in two. Beyond 90 km we say no, however good the vines are.
The full travel table sits in Report 03, §3.4 Travel, beside the other rates.
- 0Logroño
- 11Navarrete
- 12Fuenmayor
- 17Laguardia
- 20Cenicero
- 35Briones
- 40Travel charged from here
- 45Haro
- 75Alfaro
- 90The furthest we go
§5.5In Marta's own words
The Closure Note
Twice a year the crew stops completely. After harvest, and over Christmas and Kings.
When the last crates are on the trailer, we stop. From 3 to 17 November nobody reads email. The crew sleeps, I take the van in, and we grill chuletillas over this year's vine cuttings.
Write anyway. I'll answer on the 18th, in the order you wrote.
Marta
We are closed again from 24 December to 6 January. Messages from those days are answered from 7 January, oldest first. If you are hoping for a December pruning start, write before 30 November, as set out in Report 01, Table 1.