This medium-sized tapestry depicts a harvest scene in the Benden vineyards. Row upon row of grape clusters fill the vines, full to bursting with juice. As the sun comes up over the mountains, it fills the morning sky with brilliant shades of yellow, magenta, and lavendar. The light glistens on the dew that the cool night air has collected on the vines.
The fields are filled with the dusty green and bluish-violet fruits which make Benden wines so renowned. Brightly clad workers dot the scene as they fill their baskets. The finest fruits of the harvest are being brought down to the WineCraft Hall portrayed at the bottom left of the tapestry. In the bottom right corner, a wagon is already half full of sweet produce deemed fine enough for consumption and trade, but not quite up to Hall standards for their vintage wines. The tapestry's border is a deep green patterned with large vine leaves, tendrils and grape clusters; "Jules" is discreetly woven in among the tendrils.
This medium-sized tapestry depicts two scenes which break the tapestry up diagonally. The top is of the merriment and light of a wedding celebration in Benden hold's brightly lit and bustling great hall. Staff, traders and holders mingle as drudges scurry about. The wedding couple are portrayed at the center of a long table, merrily enjoying the fruits of the Winecraft with the rest of the guests. Out in the gaily decorated courtyard, a number of harpers on various instruments are playing; from the number of couples dancing, it looks to be a very popular selection.
Passing from this scene to the one in the bottom triangle, a faint shaft of light passes through a top window capturing a glimpse of the darker mysteries of the secrets guarded by the WineCraft cellars. In the vast cavern where most of the vintners do their work, large stone presses, fermenters and stills skirt the shadows around the edges of this part of the tapestry. Several bottles of the Winecraft's finest are highlisted as they sit on a few wooden tables of varying heights in the center of the room. The sunlight filtering into the cavern brings out the rich, sparkling colors of a wide assortment of the newest and best vintages of wine, ale and beer filling the room. As your eyes pass over the different and interesting shapes of the bottles they are attracted by the toasted reddish browns of the ales, the clear pearly liquid of the white wines, the brilliant and fiery golds of beers, the delicate blush pinks of the rose wines, and finally the deep garnet and ruby hues of Benden's famous red wines.
The tapestry's border is a deep green patterned with large vine leaves, tendrils and grape clusters. "Jules" is discreetly woven in among the tendrils at the bottom.
Created February 10, 1996.