Things are tapering off at the winery. What with the sticky grapes, the long hours and the earwigs gnawing at my brains, I have only been able to imagine blog entries. Ones rich and fruity. Somewhere between my inspiration and my fingertips there has been some interference and I have to blame it on blissful exhaustion.
The video is a morning punchdown of some Pinot Noir in a 3000 gallon oak fermenter. It is about 10 feet tall. The grape cap is a couple/three feet thick on the top, so there is a good 6 feet of juice below. My job here is to break up the cap and mix it up with my feet. If you think it is gross, you are right. My feet should be featured in a JRR Tolkien book.
I have jumped on the opportunity to make some wine myself. I have a deal with Garnier Vinyard in Mosier, OR. They gave me a ton of Merlot grapes and I am going to give them some wine! They had a surplus of grapes. What are you going to do when you grow more grapes than you can sell? I am hoping to make some drinkable vino. No, I want to put Merlot back on the map. I am proretrovino. I yeasted it two days ago and she is starting to take off. I will keep you posted.
