Barrels and Forklifts

The number one things I fear at the winery (besides ruining an entire vintage of wine) is the forklift.  Just thinking about climbing onto that that thing gives me nightmares.  Yes true, I know all I really need to do is take a class and practice, but its not really the operation that gives me anxiety, it is all the damage I could cause.  This fear was sort of realized during an episode of The Office when the warehouse crew wins the lottery and quits leaving the sales staff in charge of loading up the trucks.  Dwight, being the handy man he is climbs right onto a forklift and promptly ran it right into a wall. 

     You have to leave these things to the professionals and I am a total klutz.  Four broken arms, two broken toes and a few fingers have proven that without a doubt.  Never mind I achieved all of those from activities that most would consider safe. It is almost written in stone that I will cause damage to myself or something expensive.

   Wait... I think I've gone off subject, no one cares about my broken bones.  This was supposed to be about topping barrels, obviously I'm slightly off track.  Generally barrels need to be topped off about once a month.  Wine evaporates through the wood and so we must "top off" the wine so there isn't too much oxygen in contact with the wine, and today I was called up to help.  Usually the assistant winemaker, Jeff, handles everything, but my wine maker Joel is determined to get me more involved (he is obviously unaware of my past medical history).

     Thankfully I will not be the one manning the fork lift, mostly because our winery isn't the most forklift friendly place.  About ten years ago we finished renovating the two car garage into the present day winery.  The 2 arch shaped doors open in the middle (see picture... did you look? Okay back to the story).  The forklift barely clears the center of the doors, a huge opportunity to cause some real property damage. Moving the stacked barrels in and out of the winery is an art form, an art form that Jeff has nearly perfected... nearly. (We have only had to repair the damage a few times.)



Pulling Samples



  All morning Jeff unstacked and moved the barrels out onto the crush pad, as he added sulphur to a few barrels I pulled samples from others, don't I look like I'm having fun!  After pulling samples we tasted through the wines and then it was time to top them off.  We had one partial barrel, so I siphoned from that (my least favorite thing to do) into a bucket. I then dragged the bucket along with me filled a pitcher and from there into the barrels. It might sound really fun, but I assure you after about ten barrels it isn't all that exciting anymore. I do however love that I am exposed to wine making in this position.  It is actually my favorite thing about working here.  It is such a great learning experience to taste the wines through every stage if the process.  Joel Aiken, the wine maker, always makes sure to include me, even if it isn't the most glamorous job.

Cheers!
Rebecca, Chase Cellars.

Mutinous Mother Nature

It’s a real nail-biter, this 2011 harvest. Or as assistant winemaker Joe says, it’s “one year that Mother Nature is not cooperating.”

The sun has come out this afternoon, and it’s almost as though the breeze that left with the rain this morning was a collective sigh of relief from winemakers throughout the Valley. It has been raining for over a week with a tease-of-a short, sunny respite this past weekend. Most of the grapes simply aren’t quite ripe yet, so it’s a gamble as to when to bring fruit in. Wait and hope the right weather comes to ripen fruit to its potential, and risk rain that’s unrelenting? Or play it safe and bring in now what you’ve already got? The fruit is not as concentrated and scrumptious as anyone would like, but picking now would pre-empt the potentially major loss of yield that would occur if these damp grapes continue to get no love from the sun and start to mold.

Luckily for us and for our wine (and it’s no accident), Sara is a unique, dynamic blend of an optimist and a perfectionist. She’s also this awesome combo of serious scientist, positive energy force, and sensory-sensitive sweetheart with super smarts, sass, and a proclivity to fun. Anyway, she believes the weather will change, that the fruit will ripen beautifully, and that the wine will be delicious as always. And she won’t settle for anything less. “We’re taking the risk!” she says. “To ensure the best quality of fruit. With ripe tannins and good sugars and all the other delicious things. Mmm…” She pauses, smiling with an excited glint in her eye. Then she continues seriously, “It will just mean an action-packed couple of weeks of harvest, as we have fewer days than ever before to process all of our fruit.” But I can’t think of anything more rewarding than busting your boots with a group of people for a common goal. I’ll be out there tomorrow!

In the vineyard, the crew is busy opening the vines’ canopy, or removing leaves to concentrate the plant’s energy into ripening the fruit.

And this afternoon is turning out to be a bright blue beauty, so nail-bitten fingers crossed it stays. It’s amazing how quickly a little direct sunlight evaporates the melancholy ennui of a week of rain. Let’s hope it does the same for the grapes’ moistened skins!

Peju Sycamores with Sunshine

Clouds for a Daydream

We are indeed.

by Britt Starr for Peju Province Winery
from 10.11.11

see this post in context: www.pejuwinery.blogspot.com

Drop It Like It's Hot

   The grapes I mean!  Bunch thinning, or dropping fruit, is a common practice in the vineyard that must be done before harvest, even if it may break grape growers hearts. The end goal for any grower or wine maker is to produce the best product, which means we usually have to intervene and help the vines out to ensure they ripen their fruit.  So, after verasion (the process in which grapes turn from green to whatever color they are destined to be) we head out into the vineyard and cut off any bunch that clearly will not ripen in time.  My winemaker, Joel Aiken (super smart dude) pointed out bunches (like the one pictured) that were only sort of pink and said they would never fully get through verasion, so off with their heads!  We also make sure to cut off bunches that have been either damaged from sun, pests or mold.  The idea is we do not want the vine wasting energy trying to ripen them when they will never be good enough to become wine.

So far everything seems logical, if it looks bad, take it off, if it looks good, leave it on.  Now here comes the hard part, at least for growers, we also go through and drop perfectly good fruit.  The idea is the same, we want the vine to be able the fully ripen the fruit so if there is too much fruit we have to take some of it off.  It is all about protecting the balance in the vine. 

Walking down the rows after they finish can be hard, it is sad to see all that seemingly perfect fruit in the dirt, but you have to remember it is for a good cause, to make the best damn wine we can! So maybe its best if you avoid the vineyard for a few days..

Happy Harvest All!

Chase Cellars

A Bittersweet Time of Year..

Hello all from The Drudge at Chase Cellars in St Helena, offering a unique view of working at a winery from the bottom up! The grapes are changing from green to purple which only means one thing, harvest is near! At an instant I am both excited and anxious. I love Napa Valley during crush; you can feel the energy, smell the fermentation in the air and enjoy the sudden influx of interns from the southern hemisphere. Unfortunately that also means that I will soon be working a lot harder during some very long days.

The grand scheme of things it isn’t all that bad, and I really love the fact that I make something that people will treasure for years to come. To be a part of something that people open for a special occasion (like a bad day) is a very cool thing. So, okay I am excited for the upcoming harvest!

Chase Cellars is a pretty small place, only 1,800 cases, so it doesn’t take that much to get us ready. In the next few weeks we will begin pulling out all the equipment that has been stored for the winter, putting it back together and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

For now I am going to sit back, sip some beautiful rosé and appreciate the wonderful summer weather that is ripening our grapes.

Cheers!

Au Natural: Going Wild at Martin Estate Vineyard

At first glance, Martin Estate's eight acre Puerta Dorada Vineyard appears to be lacking good house keeping this summer. The truth is, while we’ve taken our weed eaters to the perimeter of our 12-acre property, the vineyard itself still has a wild and unruly cover crop of what only looks like weeds growing vigorously between every other row. What appears to be neglect, however, is our natural approach to managing the unseasonably late rainfall this year. These grasses and grains are working hard to wick excess moisture out of the ground.

“This semi-permanent cover crop also creates competition with the vines, which reduces the vigor, keeping our quantity down but our quality high,” Martin Estate Winemaker Frederic Delivert says.

“Once we feel the soil has dried out to just the perfect point,” Martin Estate Proprietor Petra Martin says, “our Carraro tractor will finally make its way through the rows to make everything look tickety-boo.”

In the meantime, we welcome the weeds as a working cog in the Martin Estate Vineyard Management Team.