Crush 2012, Day Two

I was very creative today finding new ways not to pick grapes.  There is a small block that sits right next to the winery, called the Winery Block.  After yesterday I did not want to pick grapes again.  For the rest of my life!  But, I can only stand around doing nothing for so long.  I did volunteer to run into town to get some extra food for lunch.  Unfortunately after lunch there were still plenty of grapes to harvest.

So, I do what anyone would do . . . I grabbed my camera and headed up the hill to watch the other guys do harvest.  

I've been trying to find a good picture of grapes being harvested.  Finally today I got a decent one, where the hands are not blurred and you can get an idea of what is actually happening.  I think those are Berto's hands in the photo above.  Once I've taken a couple of thousand pictures I figure there is nothing to do but actually grab a bucket and start to pick.  My back is killing me from yesterday, and every time I kneel I groan out loud.  But I'm getting better.  I harvest four buckets in about 45 minutes.  All together in the afternoon I might have even made it into double digits.    

The fruit continues to be beautiful.  When we're finished picking, we take the bins down to the winery and start sorting.  It turns out there is almost nothing to sort out--no leaves, no twigs, no grass, just beautiful, full clusters of grapes.   We sort out the winery block in no time, and then we have to wait.  We've been expecting a delivery of Pinot Gris from another winery since lunchtime, but the delivery is late.  Our crew cleans off all of the machinery, and I watch them work.  I can watch people work all day.  In the midst of cleaning a delivery arrives with one of the large oak fermentor which has been in the shop for repairs.  Finally the Gris arrives being towed by one of the Coeur de Terre pick up trucks.

Harvest has a fun family sort of feel to it.  I would say it is similar to a barn raising.  Children arrive to give us a hand, some are the kids of people who work at the winery, some neighborhood folks, and just people like me who love to hang around during crush.  Never have I seen a young man who concentrates as hard as Jacob.  That's him in the photo to the left.  He was single mindedly determined to remove every single leaf that might have tried to get past him.  His mother says that he could do this all day.  My own attention has tendency to waver after about 30 seconds.
After we sort through the Pinot Gris it is time for dinner.  And what a feast it is.  Bud White has been up at the winery all day smoking ribs, chicken, vegetables and potatoes.  It is a feast fit for a king.  I love dinners where the table is absolutely full of people.  Scot and Lisa have a huge oak dining table in their tasting room. We fill every square inch of it.  It is completely loaded with full of platters of delicious food.  And of course there is wine.  Lisa goes into the basement and raids her own library.  In honor of the new assistant winemaker, Shane, we are tasting the absolute best blocks of their 2007's.  First I try Tallulah's Run because I loved the juice so much last year when we harvested it.  It is wonderful, but we are just warming up.  Sarah Jane's Block blows everybody away.  It is subtle, with big beautiful fruit for such a cold vintage.  I love it.  Of course I also have to try the '04 Rennell's Block, and the '09 Estate Syrah!  Yes, this is what heaven must be like--a loaded down table surrounded by people who have just put in a hard says work drinking absolutely beautiful wines.  What a blessing to enjoy such a feast.  At the end of the day I climb back up the hill, because the light is starting to look interesting.  I love the way the low angle of the

sun lights up the rows of vines.  I stand with the sun behind the old oak and it blocks just enough of the light to bring the vineyard into view.  I also see the way the light is shining off of the metal wires which make up the trellises and grab the shot at the top of the page.  There is no bad angle in this place.  Everywhere you look is beauty.
I sneak out a bit early before all of the clean up is finished.  After all, tomorrow is a work day for me.  We won't be working crush tomorrow, but we'll be at it again first thing Monday morning, and I couldn't be happier.  To end I'll leave you with a photo of the whole crew standing in front of the tasting room.