Grapes Grapes Grapes
Blog – 10/20/09 Topic : Harvest
Fall is definitely upon us here on the Central Coast and the 2009 harvest continues to be a busy one. After having a frightening seven inches of rain last week we had another day of rain again yesterday. Luckily this time we were able to get all of our Zinfandel out of harms way and into tanks before any damage could be done to the grapes. As I mentioned in the last blog, rain can be potentially harmful for the grapes during harvest, especially Zinfandel, so we are very glad we were able to get all of our Zin picked damage free!
Although the hours have been long and the work has been hard this harvest, the spirits remain high on the cellar floor. I recently got a chance to chat with Chris Hawkins, one of our new cellar hands, about his harvest experience. This is Chris’s first time working a harvest and his first time working for a winery. He admitted to me that he knew harvest would be busy but he had no idea it would be this busy. Chris has been working nearly seven days a week on the day shift for the past three weeks and he told me everyday has been as busy as the day before and sometimes busier. Even though the work is hard Chris said he enjoys it because the crew is great and, as a newbie, he feels like he is learning something new everyday. Last week he dug out his first tank and he said by the end of it he could hardy pick up the shovel. “Honestly the work has been tough, but it’s a good tough. My body feels great and I have learned a lot about making wine.” – Chris Hawkins.
In the world of bottling, things have been quite busy as well, with 6,000 cases bottled a few days back in a single day. It can be hard to keep up with all of the bottling going on around here but in order to make room for all the incoming grapes we have to bottle everyday. Soon enough things will start to slow down and as the winter approaches we will have plenty of Dam Fine Wine in the works. Stay posted for more inside info!
Cheers,
Luke
