October 12. 2006

Sad news today. Daniel, my main vineyard guy, and his crew were picking Cabernet Franc when he received word from Mexico that his father had died. His father had been ill for a while, but had seemed to turn the corner. Still, Daniel was planning on going down for a visit as soon as harvest was over. Daniel was predictably devastated. He has often told me about his hometown, the house he's building there, and his father. I think losing his dad is especially tough because he's losing even more connection with "home." Incredibly, the crew finished the pick while Daniel made some phone calls. Daniel even returned to picking the fruit. They finished harvesting about five tons around noon. Daniel called me from Richmond later in the afternoon where he was catching a flight to Mexico City. He'll get there midnight tonight and he hopes to make it to his hometown by 7AM. His dad's funeral is tomorrow. It's amazing how fast everything can change.

Since the last post, the viognier that I was expecting Friday or Saturday showed up Sunday, delayed due to rain. I pressed over seven tons on Sunday. Monday I was mostly running around delivering bins and lugs to pick into. Tuesday the crew picked Cab Franc from two different vineyards. I crushed all the fruit as it came in, about 4 tons total. Some of it will be used for our nouveau, most for Cab franc wines. The color and flavors are quite good. Yesterday, Wednesday, I cleaned up the winery and reorganized. For my next trick I will juggle stainless steel wine tanks. As all the fruit comes in and becomes wine, it also takes up space. You need tanks to settle juice, ferment, and age wine. Eventually, tank space starts to become precious and that's where I am now. I literally have to think two weeks ahead to plan out what will go where and when. I kind of like it as long as it works out. It's like those plastic puzzles we had as kids with moving tiles that you had to slide and switch around to complete the picture of a clown or the periodic table.

I enjoyed yesterday, getting everything prepped (Tip: when starting a winery, whatever you decide is the largest tank you need, get TWO! You will need to rack, or move wine off lees, from one tank to another, and if your biggest tank is full, you'll need another one the same size or it's twice the work. Today was going to be relatively easy, not too much to do but pick up lugs. I was looking forward to it.