Barreled down

Barreled down is winery speak for having all of your fermented wine pressed and put into barrel. We did this on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Before pressing, we clean the barrels, which really is where all of the work is. They must be scrubbed, rinsed, sulphured, ozoned, rinsed again, and drained. Each barrel weighs about 100 pounds, and they sit on racks of two, and everything gets moved, lifted, and racked by hand. We pressed 32 barrels of wine, and I prepped 14 on Tuesday and 18 on Wednesday. I'm glad that's over with.

Before pressing, we stick what amounts to a large stainless steel straw (like you drink a soda from at McDonald's) into the fermenter and suck the "free run" wine out and pump it into the barrels. The pump does all of the work, all we do is move the hoses around. The pressing process itself is fairly simple - dump the fermenter into the press with the forklift/bin dumper, and let the press do its thing. The tough part is preparing all of the barrels.

All of the estate Pinot Noir is now done, and about two-thirds of the vineyard is picked out. We still have to do Chardonnay, but making white wine is is much simpler and easier than making red, so it's all downhill from here.

I'm now in San Francisco looking for a place, eating, and drinking heavily. I like it here, a lot. The only thing that is not to like are the rents - which are very high. Still, I think it's the place for me, at least for now.

Cheers!

"I drink too much. The last time I gave a urine sample it had an olive in it." - Rodney Dangerfield