Winemaker For a Day
Last Sunday found me back near the Santa Cruz Mountains, over in Cupertino, for an entire day of making wine. I’ve mentioned my friend Ryan– the cellar rat– before, as we worked together at Thomas Fogarty and because he makes his own label (Bonfire Vineyards).
Well, I finally got the chance to help out with his ‘little’ endeavor, meeting up with a couple of his partners (including BK) and some interested onlookers. The first step was to unload the Trooper of its contents and to clean and sanitize all the containers and tools. After getting everything organized, the next step was to taste through some well-known wines, for fun and for points of comparison. A 1996 BV Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon that was leathery, vegetal and past its time, a 2003 Geyser Peak Cab that was still pretty tannic though with nice blackberry, and a 2004 Opus One that smelled like the pimento and cheese sanwiches my mom made for me as a kid and lots of vanilla. Nice… though not worth the price, but, hey, it wasn’t my money.
And in all honesty, I didn’t really care about the tasting. I was ready to make some wine. My fingers have been itching to get into some grapes. You would think with my working at a winery, I’d have gotten to get my hands dirty before now, but that hasn’t been the case: what with a commute first, then moving, and life and cellar schedules getting in the way. Needless to say, I was quite happy to be helping out. Really getting to work, I assisted Ryan in draining the free run juice off of the Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are from the Galloway Vineyard in Healdsburg and had already gone through primary fermentation. We used a pump through a collinder and a sieve to filter the juice.
When the hose started getting clogged, it was time for the basket press. Not the one they used for the last harvest– this one was new and shiny and Italian. Once the parts were oiled and ready, we took turns scooping all the juice and skins from the bin and into the basket. Then we would push them down, either with our hands or the bottom of the bucket, to make room for more. A lot of leaning and twisting, it seemed to take forever.
Once we had as much as would fit (about half the bin), it was time to put the wooden slats and blocks into place. The reason for the extra height was so that as we put the handle into the ratchet and pushed it back and forth, there would be room for the downward movement. The pushing was easy initially and the juice poured out freely. But the more we worked, the harder it became, and we’d often have to take breaks.
And now would be a good time to take a break, as it was quite the long day…. To be continued soon.
