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Hut, Hut, Harvest!

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Dave takes a few steps back scouring the field with his reading glasses on. He looks left to Patrick streaking down the sideline, carrying a hose, and Megan hitching up underneath with a bucket of citric acid. Dave fakes the handoff to Chuy, his 4 time wine moving Pro Bowler, sweeps right and lets the ball fly. Rolling down the right hash marks is Max with his steal toed boots on, he slants right towards the end zone, looks up, sees the grapes, makes a giant leap and… BEEP BEEP BEEP, Woah! What a crazy dream. Looks like my excitement about Harvest and football season is getting to be too much for my brain to handle.

Every day we get one step closer to Harvest 2013 and it’s impossible to escape the energy and excitement in the air here at Castoro. Our harvest workers are beginning to arrive and preparations are being made for what should be one of our busiest harvests ever. With everyone hustling around I can’t help but be reminded of my football days and it’s only fitting that the two seasons occur at the same time of year. This year will be Dave’s first harvest with us as Winery Manager, or “Quarterback”, but rest assured he is a Veteran of the field and will get us through with flying colors. Patrick, Chuy, Bill and Max will be back to help out as well as a few new faces including a previous Castoro Tasting Room Crew member Megan. I no longer have the pleasure of getting covered in mud, grape juice or lees on a daily basis, but this year I vow to take as many videos and pictures as possible so you can feel like you’re part of the action.

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More importantly though, the grapes are beginning to turn beautiful greens, yellows, reds and burgundies, while some of the green grapes are softening up and filling with sweet, delicious juice. It looks as if Sauvignon Blanc, once again, will be the first of our grapes picked and the Dos Vinas Vineyard never disappoints; especially with Referee Cindy keeping a watchful eye on the clusters every night. After that we will most likely see the summertime favorite Muscat Canelli and maybe a little Viognier, who knows what will be next.

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We aren’t yet sure when the first batch of grapes will arrive, but we are jumping in our boots to start another awesome harvest season in Paso Robles Wine Country. Stay tuned because updates will be coming on the regular every week until this craziness is done.

Once again, thanks for reading,

Erik