The pain! The agony! The steamy hell that is "the cleaning of the press." I owe it all to him. The man in the above photo. Oh sure, he looks like a nice family guy...but in reality he is a heartless, sadistic, cruel 'sum-bitch.'
Telling me" "Andy, it will be the time of your life. You have to do this." Everytime I flip a barrel to collect lees or turn on that screaming "gamma-jet" to wash barrels or don the wet suit and hoist myself into that gigantic press those words echo inside my head - mocking me. hahaha. Yesterday I got to wash and sanitize the drains. Oh the romance of being a harvest intern. Denise and Apo scrubbed the barrel racks.
Just kidding Russell.
Actually, Russell was right. I am thankful he talked me into this. By the way, that is his lovely wife, April. I actually worked with her for 3 great years at Bob's on Lemmon (the original Bob's Steak & Chop House). She sends a shout out to all the Bob's girls back home in Dallas. These two have been to some pretty exclusive tastings and dined at some of the finer places in wine country during their stay here this vintage. Ask them about it when you see them back in the Metroplex.
Russell is the Sommelier at Nana. It is on the 27th floor in the Hilton Anatole in the heart of Dallas. Stop by for a visit if you are ever in town. The view alone is worth the trip, but I'm sure the wine steward can match you up with that perfect bottle of wine as well.
Russell, a 2008 Ramey Cellars intern, is totally right: I am having the experience of a lifetime. His encouragement, assistance, advice and constant prodding, motivated me to go forward with this craziness. For that I am eternally grateful. Here he is reunited with Paul and David, the guys who run the cellar and make it all work. I would have hung out and chatted about old times but there were 40 more barrels to wash. (Ironically, many of them have stickers identifying them as formerly hosting Chardonnays from Russell's 2008 vintage).
Cheers Russell and April and their new born baby Sarah with a nod to little Cooper, Sarah's big brother.
