While September is in theory the first month of the Southern Hemisphere Spring, October is the month wherein the changes in season truly become noticeable. As the South African writer and poet Louis Leipoldt wrote. "October is that beautiful, beautiful month." Stirred from their slumber after a long, cold winter, the vines are now bursting with green leaves. The rows between the vines are resplendent with the yellow flowers of canola, a cover crop whose odour keeps the destructive nematodes from chomping down at the roots. The mornings and evenings are filled with birdsong, and the screech of the African fish eagle announces the warming of the water in the Breede River, sending fish to the surface. The vineyard of the Golden Vine was slow to bud in September but has now overtaken many of the other neighbouring blocks. Temperatures are still cool, and soils are damp from the winter rains. But when the temperatures begin to warm, flowering and berry set will be just around the corner.