Andy at Ramey: A winery grunt's journal

The Final Blog

2009-12-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

If you just stumbled across this blog, check out my 2010 experience at Cakebread Cellars.

Running Towards Eden - tales from the harvest.

Update September 12, 2011 - another harvest at the ultimate in small, hand-crafted wines. I'm in the Russian River Valley! Actually, Green Valley in the Russian River Valley. Scherrer Winery!

Follow along and also see the vineyard pictorial leading up to the 2011 harvest.

Season of Growth

Time to set down the pencil, close the MacBook, finish my coffee...time to let go. I start back at Bob's Steak & Chop House in less than an hour.

What a time it was. The 2009 harvest at Ramey Cellars

The interns: Andy, Sam, Denise, Apo, Steve.

How To Empty a Semi

2009-12-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

This is supposed to be a wine blog but...

they are in the midst of the Cotton Harvest in Lubbock. I thought you might find these pictures amusing.

Load the Semi with the Cotton Seeds.

At the processing plant you unload the trucks. A shovel is too time consuming

You end up with more mounds of Cotton Seed than are in this photo!

Cotton Harvest - the short version

2009-12-06T00:57:00.000-08:00

Know this: Cotton is King in Lubbock!

Those big white blocks are harvested cotton known as "modules."

The modules on the Cotton Co-Op property = basically, who's insurance is responsible now. The Co-Op or the farmer?

A bunch of really loud stuff goes on that involves drying, separating the cotton seeds, bundling, wrapping, etc and and that guy...the cotton industry's answer to Captain Kirk:

"Raisin' Arizona" fans - The Government sure does take a bite!

Each 500 lb bundle gets a chunk taken out for Gov't approval.

I approved.

But, Todd's more experienced eye rejected these motes. It will be sent to another Gin for further refinement.

So, like wineries use lees, Cotton Gins use cotton seeds. They load these trucks up and next episode I will do the short version of cotton seed oil and such! (oh joy)

Let's be honest though - cotton is king but oil is sexy!

(click on this photo to see the oil pumpjacks)

The Arrow!

2009-12-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday: Todd says he's to take me around Lubbock to see some sites.

(per Ashley?!?).

Todd and Ashley are to be married January 16! (pssst-i think he knows)

We drive up to the non-descript building housing Lubbock Electric Co.

Call me naive, but this was the shop floor. How would a winery grunt like me know that owner Paul Bush housed one of America's best Antique Car Collections right off the main work area.

Todd's favorite car is the 1929 Pierce Arrow! Coincidence? Todd grew up with this collection. His dad worked for Lubbock Electric back in the day. He roamed around this collection all through his youth and is rightfully still very proud of it.

Ask me offline what a 90 year old lady had to say about this 1913 Blue Cadillac. Shocking!

The yellow car belonged to Will Rodgers, The red one is a 1934 Packard - recently in a 4th of July parade.

The Packard sounded a little rough so I made a few adjustments!

Notice the hand crank and the "lanterns" on the 1911 Buick. I understand that the collection goes to 1904 but this was the oldest one today.

What to do with my Christmas Bonus?

OK. The beautiful hood ornaments actually progressed from functional to art. The 1930s used external temperature gauges that transformed these gauges into radiator art. Check it out.
Todd, get in one of these and ride...while you still have time!

Whiteout!...Not the Santa Rosa I Remember

2009-12-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

Sixteen Hundred miles in 2 days!
Frazzled. Too much caffeine washing down too many glucose tabs. You could see my breath and it wasn't because it was cold outside. Yuk
Hello from my favorite Starbucks in Lubbock, TX. The South Plains. Welcome back to The Caprock. Where it all started.

New Mexico - NOT that fun. God bless truckers. How they do this on a regular basis is beyond me. It is just now "warming up" to freezing.

The near Blizzard actually started right outside of Albuquerque, NM in a Mountain Pass. My photography while driving leaves a little to be desired. Not to mention: should I have been taking pictures in 11 degree weather during a snowstorm while tucked between dozens of semi-trucks?

My skills are so bad that I missed several mishaps, shooting the scenery just after 5 of the 8 wrecks I witnessed.

At least this tow truck wasn't coming for me.
And I had plenty of time to stop the SportTrac, park, and reflect on my Ramey Internship .... on Highway 40 near Amarillo, TX!!!!

The Joshua Tree

2009-12-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

The Mojave Desert can get brutally hot as I found out! I finally stumbled passed this Joshua Tree (yucca bevifolia) and found my way back to civilization.

Actually, it was only 69 degrees (21 celsius). Almost freezing compared to the trip in. It was 111 degrees (44 celsius) that day in late August (last paragraph). The 1st picture captures this weird haze that hovered over California's Central Valley all day.

Define Puddle-Jumper

2009-12-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

Santa Rosa has a small airport with small planes. It is only 15 minutes from Healdsburg and you get a choice of free regional beer or wine! Gotta love Horizon Air.

Vineyards somewhere near Healdsburg!

Damn landing gear ruined my money shot.

Seriously! Are they recharging the plane? Just like we recharge the forklifts at Ramey Cellars?

Turn Left at The Burgerville...

2009-11-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

...off of Highway 30 about 45 minutes north of Portland and you are minutes away from Mom's place in the tiny town of St Helens. (logging trucks and trains in background).

Thanksgiving at home! A very rare occurrence for me due to my real job in the wonderful world of restaurants. I do hope all of you got to spend time with some family or friends or both as I did this Holiday.
Entertainment provided by Baby Ava and Laia. My two nieces.

The real baby Ava and her impersonation of that kid in "A Christmas Story!"

Hundreds of miles from Healdsburg, but still close to Wine Country. It is a tradition in The Willamette Valley to go wine tasting on the Thanksgiving Weekend. We took full advantage of the situation. Driving the 70 miles south to the Eola-Amity Hills sub-AVA of The Valley. Just a bit cooler and wet here in Oregon. Way up on a remote hill is the tiny Brooks Winery. Their Ara '07 Riesling was paired with the 2nd course at President Obama's 1st State Dinner! They produce an array of mouthwatering Rieslings and some crisp juicy Pinots. I had no problem finishing mine.

We then got re-acquainted with some of my old friends from Oregon Pinot Camp 2005. Stopping by Witness Tree to say hi to Steven, Heath and Mark and then over to Bethel Heights where we were greeted by one of the owners, Marilyn in the kitchen. I noticed at all 3 wineries that the 2006 Pinots on display seemed to be my favorites (at least on this day).

Heath at Witness Tree gave me a quick briefing of recent Oregon vintages. Chris, the Brooks winemaker, was patient with my various questions on Riesling production and styles. He seemed to be very passionate about his craft; and Ben Casteel came back to work with his father at Bethel Heights in 2005. Giving me more insight into his family's winery! The 2005 Casteel Reserve Pinot was also served at a White House dinner in 2008.

A great way to spend a Thanksgiving weekend with the family.
So, some of my new friends from Oregon will be looking for me in 2010!

Working Till The End

2009-11-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

Fellow interns Steve, Denise and Sam working on one last barrel down - 34 bbls of the 2007 Pedregal Cabernet (under the ever watchful eye of Dave on the forklift).

The final shift as a 2009 Ramey Harvest Intern is only minutes away.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! (gobble, gobble)

Modern Sailing

2009-11-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

Another bright sunny day that started out near 35 degrees! Sailing? With Captain? You bet.
Four guys and a 33 foot Beneteau from The Modern Sailing School & Club in Sausalito on the San Francisco Bay. How do you pass that up?

We (Cameron, Paul, Tony & I) took the boat out past the Golden Gate bridge, swung by Alcatraz Island, coasted near the famous Pier 39 on the San Francisco waterfront and then headed out and under The Bay Bridge (both old and the new Bay Bridge that is under construction).

The early afternoon wind was not cooperating as far as sailing goes. We just enjoyed the day and being out on the water. Opened some Williams Selyem Pinot and some Ramey Chardonnay. Relaxed. Had some lunch. Sunshine and Blue Skies!

Maybe it was when the guys broke out the cigars and Guinness Stout that Mother Nature realized we were serious and decided to give the boys a ride!

After cruising along with the wind under 10 knots most of the afternoon, The Bay Bridge behind us now, we tacked back towards Alcatraz and The Golden Gate. We took turns manning the helm. At times the wind gusted up near 20 knots, filling the sails, the boat at full tilt, skimming and gliding smoothly along (smoothly depending on who was at the helm ... with me... not so much), a little adrenaline rush for the crew.

Under the shadow of The Great Golden Gate Bridge we sailed, not exactly America's Cup sailing, but the wind did top out over 20.6 knots and we sailed along for the better part of the late afternoon and into the setting sun!

Saturday, November 21, 2009. MSC Crew: Captain and Tony in front, me in red and Paul with the cigar!

(click on pics for bigger view, then click back arrow to return)

Anderson Valley...Redux

2009-11-19T07:54:00.000-08:00

Middle of my last full week. Can't believe how fast this last month is going!
Some of the Ramey crew got together last Sunday morning and met in the Anderson Valley for some wine tasting. Another beautiful, bright, sunny day in wine country. You may recall that I made a solo trip up there last month. This time it was with fellow production crew members Sam, Steve, Dave, his wife Carrie and their two kids, Andrew and Alexandra. We made the 55 mile trek north of Healdsburg.

We spent the better portion of the day tasting Pinots, Alsace-style whites and Sparkling wines! Several of the wineries are family friendly. Meyers Family Winery had the whole playground setup and Bocce Ball court. They have children of their own. Matt is the son of Justin Meyer - one of the Silver Oak founders.
There is a lot of beautiful country around these parts. We spent the afternoon tasting through a choice of 14 Navarro wines and snacking on cheese, crackers and sandwiches out on their vineyard picnic tables! They had the best prices of any winery I've visited during my 3 months here. Most were less than $25 a bottle. Navarro is small and only sells wine from the tasting room. They have been around since 1979.

Then it was Sparkling wines at the Roederer Estate. L'Ermitage 2000 from a magnum was the highlight for me, although their NV Brut is always a good tasty value.
Standish is a micro-winery in a historic fruit drying building dating back to the 1880s. Some nice Pinots here.

We hit the Londer tasting room as the afternoon sun was hitting the downside. Some really great small production Pinots and Chardonnays here as well.
So, this weekend I got to do some bonding outside of Ramey with my fellow interns. Some memorable times in the vineyards and in the tasting rooms. I work with a really enjoyable group of people.
I'll fill you in on the work week next, as we did have quite a bit to do. Getting things buttoned down before the Thanksgiving Holiday!

Vineyard tour with Dr. Dirt

2009-11-16T01:50:00.000-08:00

On a beautiful fall morning, several of the Ramey crew met with Dr. Daniel Roberts of Integrated Winegrowing. He is a soil scientist (and a natural born teacher). This past Saturday Dr Dirt, as he is affectionately known, took us out to the Platt Vineyard, just 5 miles from the Sonoma coast. The morning started with classic patches of fog that quickly burned off into a bright sunny day. The sun is intense up at Platt Vineyard. Temperatures can get cool as well.
But, if you move just another ridge inland about a mile or so, it is too cold for a viable vineyard. Dr Roberts knows this because this kind of information is his specialty. A highly respected Viticulturist with over 30 years of experience, he uses Adcon Telemetry to determine exact rainfall and temperature data of a vineyard or potential vineyard! This can help determine what varietals and rootstock to plant or if they should plant at all. He can save vineyard owners from making expensive mistakes with their planting decisions.
Ramey gets all the Chardonnay that is grown at Platt (Wente clone). Other well-known clients are: Red Car, Radio Coteau, Littorai, Charles Thomas and one of my new favorites, Fred Scherrer. Mostly, they source the Pinot Noir but trials are going on for other varietals and there is a bit of newly planted Riesling.

Throughout the morning, there were discussions about pruning, organic farming, clonal differences (look up transposon), soil types and soil deficiencies, vine diseases, row orientation, and so much more. The conversation drifted from costs to vineyard clients to AVAs to different schools of thought on winemaking and viticulture.

I have several pages of notes, but two things stood out for me: All the Ramey crew wanted to be here to learn from a noted Viticulturist. We met early on our day off. This struck a chord with me; to see that my coworkers are motivated people who want to get better in their chosen field. The other thing that will stick with me is that Dr. Roberts graciously donated his time to teach us a few things about viticulture and vineyard management. A wonderful gesture.

The Joy and Romance of Winemaking

2009-11-12T23:24:00.000-08:00

Shannon, Andy and Sam. Living the dream!

The Olive Harvest

2009-11-12T07:44:00.000-08:00

When you get an invitation that includes the phrases:
Olive Party and Everything but the Squeal! on the same page
You sort of have to consider it. Right?
Sunday I attended a most amazing and unique party. Pamela and Denise's annual Olive Harvest Party in Glen Ellen, CA!
Two themes intertwined: harvesting the olives from their decades-old olive trees and then celebrating by indulging in a feast centered around Pamela's recreation of Spanish pork dishes she learned how to make after reading John Barlow's book about his culinary travels through Northern Spain. We're talking "trotters," "cocida," "pig bladder pudding." Read the book or attend next year's party to figure out what that is. (my camera malfunctioned at dinner)
Foodies were in force. Everyone brought side dishes but we're not talking Safeway potato salad (almost...but I brought 2 btls of wine instead...). Let's put it this way, Laurine of "Top Chef" was in attendance. Local foods. Roasted veggies. Gourmet cheeses. Colorful dishes.

An eclectic group from San Francisco to Seattle (and Texas). Beverage in hand, everyone gravitated to either picking and raking olives out of the trees or scooping them up off the tarps and into the bins. I heard German, Spanish and French. When all four trees were harvested we took a break for...what else...pulled pork sliders and hot links.

Then we loaded the olive bins onto a truck and paraded the half mile or so down to Figone's Olive Oil Co. The weigh-in was around 250 lbs or so. That's around 4 gallons of fresh, hand-picked olive oil. Visit Frank Figone's Certified Organic Olive mill or at least follow the link and read all about this place. They process the locals' olives. If you only have a small quantity, it goes into the community batch and you get back the % that you put in. Figone's oils are milled, blended and bottled right on site. We got the tour and then a tasting. He also has some great infused oils using real fruit zests, no powders or artificial flavors.

Back to their house for the carnival of pork. The crowd kept growing, the wine kept flowing and the festivities continued on into the evening. Great events are sometimes punctuated by how unique they are. This is true of the Olive Harvest Party. Denise and Pamela - what a great day. An unusual and wonderful way to spend time with friends - old and new!

ps - the Cowboys capped the day by beating the hated Eagles!

Benovia's Fall Release Party

2009-11-11T07:22:00.000-08:00

Past orchards and colorful vineyards, winding through roads that glide over hills and finally down a long gravel road that took me past King Family Vineyard (Ramey pressed Chardonnay from here); I arrived at Benovia Winery. Out in the Russian River Valley and yet only 20 minutes from Healdsburg.

I was meeting Lydia for Benovia's Wine Club Pickup weekend! This time we were the guests and they were doing the pouring. You may recall, last weekend I helped at Williams Selyem's Wine Club pickup on Saturday. Lydia did their Sunday party.
This is also ironic because Benovia's well-honored winemaker Mike Sullivan and Williams Selyem's equally decorated winemaker, Bob Cabral, both worked at Hartford Court. (if you are looking for another school besides UC-Davis for wine studies, they both attended Fresno State).
More than half of Benovia's production is Pinot Noir. Currently my favorite varietal (but, tastes always change and evolve). I do happen to live on the border of the Russian River AVA. home to Pinot and Chard. Benovia's Cohn Vineyard was planted in 1975. How's that for being ahead of the Sideways curve!
This artisan winery produces small amounts of gorgeous Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and a bit of Zinfandel. Mostly estate grown, mostly from this area: the Russian River Valley, the Sonoma Coast and they do get a bit of grapes up north from the Anderson Valley (Savoy Vineyard).
There is also a Ramey connection. Dr. Daniel Roberts is their viticultural consultant as well as a consultant to Ramey. Read more on Dr Dirt in this fascinating Wine Business Monthly article. We are scheduled to visit the Platt Vineyard this Saturday. This is one of Ramey's chardonnay vineyards out near the coast.
Always something fun to do here in the heart of Sonoma wine country.

Like sipping sparkling wines outside in Iron Horse's vineyards with my dear friend Lydia.
Cheers!
Next - the olive harvest!

These are the days

2009-11-09T07:22:00.000-08:00

Often, the times that you remember most are short and fleeting. You wish there could have been more time that day; that week; that month. In retrospect you realize that those times were perfect. To squeeze just one more minute would not have made it more memorable. Perhaps, the very fact that time was short adds to the intensity of the moment.

This weekend I spent time with some of the people I most enjoy being around.

Friday after work we had a blind tasting party at Robin's place. Saturday I was able to steal a few hours wine tasting in the Russian River Valley with my favorite enologist, inbetween my day and night shifts. Sunday it was time with Robin, Chris and fellow Ramey intern Denise at her most unique olive harvest party.

Saturday evening we set up 4 tanks to be drained. The Sunday A.M. crew drained those tanks and today we'll dig them out. Four more empty tanks. The end of harvest is fast approaching.

These are the days...

ps - More on this weekend's events next episode!

Get the Red Out

2009-11-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

Those gnarly looking mitts are mine after a week of red wine work. This week we have been moving red wines around like crazy.
We actually macerated(soaked) certain cabernet lots on the skins of cabernet lots that we had drained. These skins, it was determined, were from superior lots and could add a bit more structure and complexity to the cabs now soaking on them.
We also put those great Rodgers Creek Syrah tanks into barrels. Two different clones, 470 and 877 (and remember they have some viognier in there too) went into about 30 barrels. For now we are keeping the two clones separate. (also - Steve pointed out that I spelled Petit of Petit Verdot, wrong in that episode about Rodgers Creek. I have too many links to it now so we'll just have to leave it as "petite" with that 'e' on the end. Damn interns have to watch each other).
Some Somerston Cabs went into barrels (less than 30) as well as the Pedregal Petit Verdot (only 6 barrels). I doubt anyone has kept up, but these lots are much smaller than most of our white wine lots. Most reds less than 20 barrels. Later some will be blended together to make those delicious Ramey Reds! Also, for those of you not counting at home, that was 21 days that the Rodgers Creek took from the Crusher/Destemmer to ferment and macerate and be racked into another tank before we barreled it down.
One positive about harvest slowing down a bit is that I have been able to do more tastings. And I don't mean visiting winery-type tastings, I mean critical and blind tastings to help me brush up on my sommelier skills. More on that in another episode.
It has been raining non-stop for two days. No more grapes on the vine to worry about. Now we can only hope it will replenish the Russian River some!

Dead Man Walkin!

2009-11-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

Every tank we dig out now represents a step closer to the end of my internship. Not necessarily a happy thought. This week we drained two more tanks. John Holdrege calls us interns "Dead Man Walkin" now that the grapes have been harvested. I love the job back in Dallas but I've been enjoying this learning process. It has been such an experience. The people I've met and the friends I've made. But, hey! It's not over yet. I've still got a few more weeks of digging and cleaning and barreling and pump-overs.
I've got to run now, but stay tuned and I'll do my best to fill you in on what's going on in November at Ramey Wine Cellars. We've done a lot already this week.

ps - how about Dirk Nowitzki's 29 points in the 4th quarter!!!

Pick Up Weekend...Williams Selyem

2009-11-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

Saturday started out Cold. Cold and Foggy! Down in the 40s as I drove through the Russian River Valley on Westside Road.

I had a chance to do a little networking this weekend. I volunteered to help out the celebrated Russian River Pinot Noir producer Williams Selyem. They have been turning out tantalizingly tasty wines since 1981.

Limited production. Very allocated. They have a waiting list for people to get a chance to purchase these sublime pinots. This weekend it was time for the lucky few to come pick up their allocations. It is a great business model. They sell 95% of their wine this way. I can see why too. The one catch to the model - you have to be good at it. Williams Selyem delivers!
We volunteers, and the Wine Club members, had the opportunity to taste bottlings like the '07 Williams Selyem Bucher Vineyard, Litton Estate and Weir Vineyards Pinots.

John Bucher was there pouring his vineyard designate.(that's him in the hat and jacket) Bucher's Vineyard is just a few miles away in the Russian River Valley. Remember, a few weeks ago, we had the Holdredge Winery version. John does indeed grow some great fruit. I loved both winerys' bottlings.

The Litton Estate is one of their most rare and expensive versions. A real treat! If I understood correctly, this is the vineyard surrounding their new winery scheduled to be completed last month (a joke about deadlines).
The Weir Vineyard. This deliciousness is from the Yorkville Highlands, near Anderson Valley. I was running around up there earlier this month (about 50 miles to the north of here).

The main thing for me though was to expand my horizons and meet more wine folks. I did indeed meet some fascinating people and hopefully made some new friends.
I worked most of the day with Greg, an '06 Williams Selyem intern and former lawyer, John a current one and former investment banker, Nico from Burgundy, and (forgive me) a New Zealand intern who's name escapes me (later learned it is Karl). I also got to meet the guys from August Briggs, Aaron and his brother Jesse. They help with the winemaking and all else that it takes to run a family business. They also have their own Russian River Pinot label - Romililly - that I will have to check out.
Williams Selyem has so many great people working for them. Cami, Rachael, Sarah and Erin were all in such good spirits the whole afternoon. And why not. They have a winery to be proud of. Winemakers Bob Cabral and Lynn Krausmann were pouring and chatting with their guests. All-in-all, not a bad way to spend a day in the Russian River Valley.
I will leave you with this. Another reason I love this country. The day cleared up just fine as you can see from these photos of the Allen Vineyard (surrounds the current winery).

The week in review. Late October

2009-10-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

Heading into the Halloween weekend!
The Dallas Mavericks got rid of some ghosts - trouncing the Lakers in L.A. (game 2 of 82)!

Try to follow my line of thought here: I picture an intern's job as it relates to winemaking sort of like an orbit. What I mean is that sometimes you are doing things that need to be done but the process is pretty far removed from the wine or winemaking. Important to the overall process, but still, way out on the fringes. Other times you are much closer to the sun.
I spent the 1st two days of the week pressure-washing those grape bins. They are being stored for some poor harvest intern to dust off and sanitize next year. I consider that like being on Neptune.
The daily morning and evening pump-overs or moving wine/juice from tank to barrels is a bit closer to the actual process. Top-stir-topping barrels at least gets you involved with the actual juice. And I really loved when the grapes were coming in.
Sanitizing the drains or pressure-washing the floor; back out on Pluto. Scrubbing barrel racks falls into that general category too.
This week I fell into both orbits. Usually, in the same day. You're always involved in one of the pump-overs. Spent 2 days top-stir-topping Chardonnay barrels. Lost count around 250. But, I consider that a bonus workout.
We did have another one of those fabulous lunches. Patrice and Paul cooked Italian - Lasagne, caesar salads, seafood! Cameron picked up some wines - mostly from Sicily. Ironically, I had been brushing up on Sicily this week. An article my Mom sent me and The Spectator had a quiz on the wines from this Mediterranean island to the south. Give Nero d'Avola a try.
Today was a short but intense day. We racked the Pedregal and Shartsis Cabs from their tanks to new tanks to remove solids and to aerate them. That's a shot of the setup below. The Shartsis, from the tank on the right, being aerated into that metal bin (called a sump) through hoses to the tank on the left. The next picture is the inside of the original tank on the right. That is the solids on the bottom, (a grape sludge) that are left behind. These 2 Cabs were drained off their skins on Thursday, October 29 (yesterday). So, basically we moved the juice (wine), twice in two days. The 1st time a wine is moved off the skins it is called the free-run. (click some of the links if you like punishment and want to read more on this from previous episodes)

Then we pumped the clean juice into barrels. Sam and I stayed busy as Paul coordinated everything. Then a couple of hours into the shift David Ramey and Cameron decided the 2 tanks of Rodgers Creek Syrah were ready to be drained and moved. The 3 of us, Paul, Sam and I, stayed very busy the rest of the day, but basically melded together as a team and got it all done, transitioning right into the evening pump-overs, nutrient additions included and banged it all out. You could sure feel the light coming off of us on this day.

"...lookin out my back door"

2009-10-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

"...bother me tomorrow, today I'll buy no sorrows"

View from the top

2009-10-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

Barnett Vineyards! 2050 feet above Napa Valley,
Jackie greeted us in the small nondescript tasting room/barrel room. Why over-decorate when nature has done such a stunning job right outside the front door. (that view is from their Cave)

A fellow Texan, her energy alone made us feel welcome. She actually had plenty of wine experience before moving up to the top of Spring Mountain, working at Flat Creek Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country and being certified by the International Sommelier Guild.

Barnett Vineyards has been here since the early 1980s. Hal and Fiona's terraced vineyards produce intense Cabernet under the guidance of talented, young, well-traveled winemaker, David Tate (you have to check out his bio).

The wines were all delicious but they also let you relax, stretch your legs, make new friends and just enjoy their property. We had a picnic way up on their gazebo with some of Barnett's Russian River Pinot, sandwiches and gourmet cheese. Just soaked up the sunshine and the view.
Debbie says "Cheers to that!"

ps - Make an appointment and realize it is a long way up that mountain. A sip of Rattlesnake Hill Cab is worth the drive.

A Place of Dreams

2009-10-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

Back at my office, The Flying Goat, for the start of Week 8! Can you believe it?
Reverie!
This Diamond Mountain District winery is one of the smallest in Napa Valley (3000 case total production). Wind your way up a tiny, tree-shrouded, 1-car road; you have to pass through the Von Strasser Winery property to get to Reverie. That is because at one time these two wineries and the adjacent Diamond Creek Vineyards were all one property. Reverie means "a dreamlike state" or "a place of dreams" depending on who you ask. (Where is Apolline when I need her?) Either way, Kevin and I, along with my sister Debbie, enjoyed the flight.

That's William on the right near the pumpkins. He was getting ready to do the punch-downs when we showed up. He and his family have been in the wine business for a long time. I actually forklifted bins onto a Rios Farming Co. truck just last week. Solovino is owned by relatives. Norm Kiken and his wife, Evelyn, own Reverie. They named a tasty Merlot-based blend after their son Andrew. A.S. Kiken! (get it)
A man of many hats at Reverie, William willingly switched gears, grabbed several bottles of wine and hosted an amazing tour and tasting that took us from the Crush Pad deep into the Barrel Cave and then out into the forrest. They brought in the last of their Estate-only grapes earlier in the month! Plenty of cellar work to do on the juice though.
Ted Lemmon, who is one of the most respected winemakers in Califronia and makes some of the best Burgundian-style wines around, is the consulting winemaker.
Reverie's Cabs are cult status but they also make an array of fun varietals not usually seen in Napa Valley - Barbera, Tempranillo, Roussane - six barrels or so of each. The Merlot, Petite Verdot and Cab Franc should not be overlooked either. But, the Cabernets are truly the spotlight at Reverie!

That's my sister Debbie, the newest member of the Reverie Dream Team wine club!

The Lonely Bin

2009-10-23T23:21:00.000-07:00

Such a sad sight for me. The last bin of grapes signifying an end to 2009 Ramey Cellars crush in the fading light of a Friday evening. But, there is work still to be done...

Good Times and Holdredge Wines

2009-10-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about wine country is the unexpected.
I drove by Holdredge Winery almost daily during the Chardonnay harvest. It is on Front St just off Healdsburg Ave, about a 5 minute walk around the corner from Ramey.

Last Saturday morning I went in to help Lydia with some barrel feedings and I loaded some empty bins onto a truck for more grape picking down the line.

All in all a light day for the Saturday AM crew. Lydia suggested we try Holdredge. She had tasted his '06 Bucher Vineyard Pinot and loved it. So, why not. What's 10 minutes out of your day to taste Russian River Valley Pinot Noir?!?

That's John, a lawyer and a pretty damn good Pinot Noir producer... with a sense of humor. He took time out from pressing the Pinot that had fermented in those white bins he is standing next to and spoke with us at length about all sorts of wine related topics. Quizzing us on facts and procedures and basically making me "think" about what I am learning here.
They were in the midst of dumping the fermented grapes into that Press in the far background so we really appreciated him being so accommodating with his time. His passion for all things wine was evident in the historical facts he threw out as well as the usual winemaking notes. Georges de Latour once owned the building John now uses to create some amazing Pinots, Zin and Syrah. All in very small amounts, the largest case production is only 820 cases of the '07 Pinot Russian River. The rest were mostly 10 barrel lots or less!

He was not above ribbing us for only having an espresso machine. He brought Cindy, his tasting room host, a big steaming cup of frothy mocha-cappuccino as evidence of his superiority.

What was going to be a quick stop turned into a fun, insightful, intimate visit to a great local Pinot Noir producer. Proving once again, that although the wine has to be good, it is the people involved that add greatly to the experience. But, you have to check out John's winery if you are in Healdsburg. Can't miss Pinots across the board!

So, last Saturday I did get to spend time with some of my favorite people: Dave and his family , fellow intern Denise and Lydia.
Can't wait to see what's in store this Saturday.
Big sister Debbie and my dear friend, Kevin, (who is like a brother to me), are coming to town!
Last of the '09 grapes coming later today (Friday). Gotta run.
ps - the '07 Bucher Vineyard Pinot is pretty tasty too!

Apolline we miss you already

2009-10-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

She was the 1st to arrive, she is the 1st to go home. Back to the South of France.

Everyone's favorite intern. It is her last day today.
A student at Purpan University in Toulouse, she is an extremely hard worker. Very conscientious about getting the work orders done quickly and efficiently. Oh how I loved it when she would correct me if I was not doing a job properly. I think she will some day become a successful head of a firm or company. She knows how to take charge when necessary.
She was also fun to be around. Her english much better than she thinks. She was quick to laugh or tell a story.
At Purpan she is required to study abroad. She did an internship on a goat farm last year. The goats' milk was used to make a famous cheese from her region - Roquefort! Next year I believe she said she is required to go to a university in a foreign country. What a degree plan. Talk about a well-rounded curriculum.

Paul cooked cassoulet and other great dishes. Wines were opened and we all spent a wonderful grand last lunch together. Thanks to the Rameys for letting us enjoy the moment for a bit longer than usual.

Denise and Apolline were a team within the team. They did a lot of projects together working the day shifts.

We five, the 2009 Ramey Wine Cellars interns, made a great crew. We will miss you Apo. We wish you Great Success!

They're back!

2009-10-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

After over a week with no grapes to crush, we made up for it today and tonight. Over 24 tons of Lamoreaux Vineyard Cab. 50 bins!!!

We had the crushing equipment going until late evening.(Fueled by pizza on the run).

Lamoreaux is in the Southern area of Napa Valley; The Oak Knoll District, near Janet Trefethen's place. The weather delayed picking for a bit (cool, misty, rain). But, Cabernet is a hardy varietal. Molds and fungus were a concern but all was good. Just some extra hang-time as the phenolics ripened up a bit more.
We also did some fining on 2008 Russian River Chardonnay. It's late. I'll catch up with you tomorrow.

Vacancy...redwood walls...slight fire damage

2009-10-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

Robin kicked me out! Said I spend too many nights at John & Zeke's. Whatever.

My new apartment!
Choices were limited on an intern's wages. So, I went with the Studio.

Welcome to my new digs!

It's not much but it does have a thick1400 year-old wooden door for security.

I had to get a part time job with Armstrong Woods helping move the trees around to pay rent.

Silly tourists. No wonder they always get lost. I'm told to move these things all the time.

I am getting pretty buff though. The work is very physical. Way harder than being a Ramey intern.

It can be hard on the old back though. I hope they have good insurance.

Can't wait to get back to Cleaning the Press!

White Wine Seminar in Pictures

2009-10-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hunker down!

David Ramey did a cool seminar on White Wine Making. He helped us make sense of some of the work orders or processes we have performed over the past 6 or 8 weeks.
However, as usual, I am short on time. So, for now, I will give you an abbreviated pictorial of how it works.

SAMPLES: In the vineyard and in the lab, sampling grapes determine when to pick. Brix (sugar levels basically) and acid levels are a big factor. Sam samples too, but his opinion is not factored in.

PRESSING: Grapes arrive and are weighed. Then they are dumped, whole clusters, into that huge Press.

There are all different types of Chardonnay to pick from. These two cluster examples are Clone 4 on the left and Wente 80 on the right. Notice the "hens and chicks" sizes of the grapes in the Wente cluster. More skin surface ratio, more phenolics = more aromatics, more complex flavors!

That is Paul dumping in our 1st shipment from Hudson Vineyard. The Press goes through 7 cycles at relatively smooth low pressure. Press, release pressure, spin, press some more. It takes 3-4 hours.

TANK TO TANK: The juice ends up in a tank and settles overnight. The next day we hook the tank with the juice to another tank and transfer the juice; a process called "racking." Solids have "dropped out" or sunk to the bottom as this tan sludge-like substance. Clearer juice has flowed through the hose to the awaiting tank. We keep the tanks cool (below 65 degrees) but not cold.

After the juice is racked from tank to tank we fill the barrels. Ramey Chardonnays are barrel-fermented. We only fill to about 53 gallons of the 60 gallon barrel. This is to give room for the fermentations which get pretty active. Almost as if they were boiling. We don't want all that delicious Chardonnay juice to end up on the cellar floor.

NUTRIENT ADDITIONS: During the coming days the yeast converts the grape sugars into alcohol and CO2. The Brix levels drop (sugar levels; they are now converted to alcohol). When the Brix drops to a certain level we add nutrients to invigorate the yeast and control the nitrogen levels essential to the fermentation. If Nitrogen drops too low you get those nasty reductive tastes and aromas (think rotten egg). These additions have names like Superfood, SuperVit, DAP or BioFerm. It looks like a big morning power-shake and sort of is, for the yeast. The mixture is known as a Slurry. We actually call this process the barrel feedings. As if they were our children.
That's a slurry and here is Lydia mixing up some nutrients for the kids!

TOPPINGS:
When the ferments slow down we "roust the lees!" Battonage. Stirring the lees. Lees are the yeast cells that drop to the bottom of the barrel. We use a curved metal rod - the batton. Doing this once a week keeps the wine fresh, integrates the oak and helps metabolize the diacetyl so the wine isn't overly buttery, among other things. The lees are anti-oxidative so they help limit oxygen too.
Here I am doing a top-stir-top procedure. I stick that rod in the barrel. Top it with wine. Then stir up the lees on the bottom. Remove the rod and top the barrel all way. Minimizing air exposure.

Because of the activity created during fermentation and the evaporation of wine in barrel we are constantly topping the barrels to fill in the air space that is created.
The wines still have to go through malolactic fermentation. This should happen in the Spring. The sharper malic acid is converted to softer lactic acid with the aid of beneficial bacteria. (think of malic like apples and lactic like cream).
We also need to fine the wines to clarify them. With whites you use bentonite (a type of clay), isinglass (sturgeon air bladder) and casein (milk protein).
The different lots are blended and then bottled. Enjoy!

Cheers from Lydia and Paul!

Solar Beer

2009-10-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

Brewpubs are still alive and well in Northern California. Tuesdays are great at Healdsburg's Bear Republic. Racer 5 IPA being the favorite of our crowd.

But you have to try new things. So, Saturday I skipped the last chance at another winery (most tasting rooms close around 4:00 to 5:00 just so you know).

I Went Solar! Anderson Valley Brewing Company is mostly solar powered. Check out all those solar panels.
Did the 6-beer tasting. You'll notice at first it was 5, but for under $20 I could have added several more.

On this day, my favorite was the Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema - a malty, slightly sweet, creamy beverage.
Alas, I had to leave those little beauties fairly full,
I had that winding hairpin beast known as Highway 128 to Healdsburg still ahead of me.
But, 2010 internship??? Brewmaster Andy!

Petite Verdot and Rodgers Creek Syrah

2009-10-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

We received a small amount of Pedregal Petite Verdot (3 tons or so), crushed it and sent it to tank (Sunday). Usually, it is sent in with the Pedregal Cab but this year Ramey is keeping it separate, for now.
Got to do the Grape Stomp again on Monday. Filled 2 tanks with Rodgers Creek Syrah, 25% whole clusters. Meaning four half-ton bins per tank we shoveled in by hand; stems, a random leaf or two and grapes. That's about an hour per tank. The rest of the bins got the hopper/destemmer treatment then went to the tanks.
Rodgers Creek Vineyard is at the Eastern end of the Petaluma Gap. The Petaluma Gap is a wind gap . Basically, there is a gap in the coastal mountains and the wind comes from the Ocean through the town of Petaluma and then blows into the San Pablo Bay to the south.
Famous vineyards in this area are known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay due to the cool-climate from constant wind and fog. Rodgers Creek is terraced, steep and faces the afternoon sun framed by trees above and below the vineyard (source: sfchronicle). Most get Burgundian grapes. Ramey gets the Rhone varietals Syrah and Viognier. So good that we make a single vineyard bottling (i feel better now about saying "we"). I honestly love this Syrah. It has been on the Bob's list for a while now. Deeply aromatic, big and spicy! You won't be disappointed.
(We are having a vineyard seminar Wednesday afternoon. May have to revise some of this. Check back).

See the bins up front partially hidden, with the green grapes? That's viognier. Lydia, our enologist, explained that co-fermenting (putting them in the same tank with the syrah) helps stabilize the phenolics (yeah ... me too...??). She's great at explaining things but I hate asking her to repeat herself. That's about 39 half-ton bins of syrah and 3 half-ton bins of the white viognier. You realize in the Cote Rotie, in the Northern Rhone Valley they do this. It is a classic Rhone-style thing: Syrah with just a bit of Viognier (actually, they are allowed up to 20% Viognier to perfume and stabilize the Syrah. World Atlas of Wine page 133). The Aussies do it as well.
ZZZZZZ. Hello. Are you still with me?
I actually find this stuff interesting.
And at the risk of sounding redundant, we pressed the last of the Chardonnay.
I know, I know. I've said it twice before. This time for real. The last bin of the Sonoma Stage Chardonnay went into the Press at 12:45 PM Monday, October 12.

There has been constant rain today. It was expected. Picking crews were stretched thin on Sunday. Vineyards that might have waited 3 or 4 days were given the go ahead to be picked. However, the ones that needed more than a few days to ripen are now, of course, being delayed even more.
There has been plenty of work to keep us busy in the cellars though. Stay tuned. I'll update you on all the activity next episode. We have 2 interesting seminars coming up as well. Can't wait to report on those. Until then...
Cheers

Dailys

2009-10-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

Maybe it was "Entourage" that mentioned 'the dailys.' The day-to-day stuff that doesn't always make the final cut.

Not so dramatic here, but maybe some of you might want to know.

The main reason I mentioned "the dailys" is because we (Lydia) take all kinds of samples. Any process we do that changes the wine, there is a sample taken usually before and after that process. Needless to say, Lydia is analyzing the wines constantly during harvest.

For instance, we did egg-white fining trials on our cabernets. Fining, is the ancient process of clarification. It prevents haze and can smooth out the tannins, improving the wine's balance. Without going into all the detail of "Understanding Wine Technology," my handy reference book, the egg-whites are whipped into the barrel or tank, they then attract unstable proteins that can make the wine cloudy after bottling.

Anyways...

Ramey does trials to see what quantity of egg-whites works best: 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 egg-whites per barrel. After analyzing, Lydia sets out small bottles in the Conference room for the winemaking team to sample. We get to taste these samples too. There are new ones daily. David tastes the tanks daily to see how fermentations are progressing. He tastes wine when they go from tank to barrels. There are samples from different types of oak barrels. There are samples taken after separate lots are blended together. And on and on. There is usually a control sample and then the samples after the process.

Daily there is a whole new round of wines to taste comparing different processes. Truly a great learning exercise for an intern.

Get Loose in Anderson Valley

2009-10-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

The Goldeneye experience was awesome! Please do not misinterpret what I say next. It was a polished, silky smooth, well-manicured, moneyed environment. It was like being at a resort. That's a good thing. I absolutely loved it.
I told Lisa, the Goldeneye hospitality manager, that I wanted to visit just one more place. She immediately said Toulouse Vineyards just a mile or two up the road. "It's rustic and funky, but a lot of fun. A smaller operation (to paraphrase)."
Great call.
There was a hand-painted sign with a whacked-out looking goose on it. The dirt road driveway snaked up a mountain about a quarter of a mile to what can definitely be called a smaller operation.

Four guys working on a Press considerably smaller than Ramey's. Click back to look at the last picture in that episode and compare it to Toulouse's press. Also, in the above picture, those white bins on the far right are fermenters. Their 2009 Pinot has completed fermentation and they were dumping them into the red press in the center of the picture or for a closer look view this next picture. Then the free-run juice (i should say "wine") is going into those barrels which looked new.
Another wild thing: to get to the tasting room I had to walk right through all that harvest chaos. Vern was the one who directed me through.

That is Vern Boltz in the hat and white T-shirt. I asked Dan in the tasting room if he was the cellar master, the winemaker or...and he said "go on... tractor greaser, vineyard manager, owner! He does it all."

Vern's tanks hold 550 gallons. I was standing next to them and didn't realize they were tanks. Remember I mentioned that Ramey's smallest tanks (see pic in this episode) hold 1920 gallons.
They do everything on a much smaller scale. The results. Fantastic! I had to splurge and take home a bottle of '07 Toulouse Estate Pinot Noir. As good as any top-flight Pinot I've tasted lately. Their production is so small that they were sold out of several of the whites. Anderson Valley is good for the varieties common to Alsace. Anyone? Bueller? Anyone? OK - Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gerwurztraminer to name a few. There is even an Anderson Valley Alsace Festival every year now.

Like a grapevine meadow opening up amongst the trees, that is the Toulouse Estate Vineyards.
So, now you know; Alsace Whites and Pinot Noir are the main wines of the Anderson Valley.

That's the tasting room. Rustic. But, you can get loose in Anderson Valley!

Anderson Valley...The Golden Child

2009-10-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

Crazy busy to kickin it.
Tasting Pinot Noir, relaxing in a wooden deck chair in the vineyards of the Anderson Valley!

The drive to Anderson Valley is a scenic, winding, double-back trip up Highway 128 North. Only about 50 miles or so from Healdsburg. A little more than an hour's drive. Calling this particular portion of 128 a highway is a bit of a stretch. There are so many hairpin curves and no-shoulder stretches on steep hills that 15 to 25 mph is not uncommon.

Maybe it's just me, but I love this type of scenery. The rolling hills with patches of tan grass intertwined with the green trees framed by that bright blue California sky.
If you look far off in the distance in the 1st photo you will notice a subtle thing in the background. Redwood trees! The vineyards run right into the redwoods. At least near Goldeneye's Confluence Vineyard.
I meant to go deeper into Anderson Valley. Stop in several tasting rooms. Explore as much of the area as I could cram into an afternoon. Get back late. Jump back into the harvest in earnest again come Sunday morning. But.....

Goldeneye was not a planned stopped. I carry their 2006 Anderson Valley Pinot on the list. Readers of the blog can also ask Brenna to dig out a bottle of Goldeneye's Ten Degrees. Tell her there are a few bottles stashed in the Bob's Steak & Chop House cellar somewhere, the Goldeneye staff seemed surprised we have this special 10-barrel Anniversary blend down in Dallas. Anyways, this winery caught my eye before I got to Navarro, where I was originally headed. I was sent to the patio with a glass of aromatic, refreshing Vin Gris of Pinot Noir. "Grab a patio table or deck chair and Bruce will be with you in a moment." Bruce shows up with this:

Wow! Cancel the rest of my day. Hold all my calls. Send the wife and kids out shopping (okay, no wife, no kids, but you get the picture)
Three single vineyard selections, two different styles of appellation pinots, the vin gris, a cheese platter and later they dropped off a healthy dollop of that Ten Degrees!
It just felt right. A busy, physically taxing week of work. Time to stop and just enjoy the moment. The temps went from a foggy, chilly 49 when I hit the road, to mid-70s with bright sunshine. I sat there for the better part of 2 hours.
A big thank you to the staff at Goldeneye.
Take the drive North. It is well worth the time. The scenery alone is rewarding but the Pinots won't let you down.

Goldeneye, a Duckhorn project, has been around since the mid-1990s. Their vines have come of age and they have a new winery that just went online for the 2009 harvest.

Made one other stop that I will tell you about tomorrow (time permitting).

Crazy Busy

2009-10-09T23:36:00.000-07:00

We were so busy this week that as I was writing some notes down I had to run and check my own blog to see if it was really Friday. Honestly! Just crazy.

I can't believe it has been almost a week since I visited the Rockpile AVA and Sbragia. I have another road trip in mind come morning.

So, that's Dave, our Cellar Master. He's actually putting the final touches on our week. It was one of the few chances I had to pull out the camera. Not much time for photo ops in the past 72 hours.
I'm going to skip details tonight. It's been a long week. Instead I will just say Dave (with a plan from Alice, Cameron and David Ramey of course); Dave (and Paul - his assistant) keeps the flow going in the cellar.
He usually directs the troops from his position on the forklift. He moves barrels around constantly. Remember, we are working on wines going back to 2007. Many of the barrels are still sorted by the vineyard. Others are sorted by the bottling that will be made. The farther along, the more specific the barrels become. Also, remember, we have two cellar locations.
I can't even tell you how many lots there are and he has to know not just the lots, but what needs to be the most accessible next. There is not unlimited space in our red wine facility. In fact, it's tiny. It is a real Rubic's Cube for Dave.
In crunch time (harvest), the busiest time of year; the thing Ramey has been working for all year - he (they) have to rely on 5 rookie interns to help get the grapes processed. Normally, at Bob's Steak & Chop House I would be prepping for the big Texas/OU weekend in Dallas, TX! I would probably ask you to just shoot me if I had to rely on a bunch of rookies to get me through that craziness.

So, not necessarily in order we did:

pump-overs, pump mixes,

drained free run juice from one tank to another - several times,

dug out skins and pressed them to tank (several times),

moved wine or juice from tank to tank (racking),

pumped tanks to barrel, pumped barrels to tank,

Lydia tests samples before and after every process,

washed barrels, steamed barrels, collected lees from barrels.

went to lunch,
Paul cooked lunch for visitors (he is a chef too)

made mistakes, spilled wine, volcanoed barrels,

cleaned and sanitized and hosed down equipment and floors (repeat often),

unclog the drains (repeat often),

moved hoses this way and that,

topped barrels, made those nutrient additions, blended tanks and

actually made wine.

Today at lunch, Brian from Canton Cooperage, brought us some pizzas and Cameron went down and pulled a little taste of Syrah from a tank that we had all worked on and we shared it with lunch.

To me that was a really cool feeling. And it was pretty damn good Syrah!

Crazy and Exciting times at Ramey Cellars! I love it!

Apolline, our favorite French intern, completing the Big Dig on the Syrah tank. Just one of the many things going on in the Ramey cellar this past week. She's leaving in 2 weeks so I had to sneak in another picture.
Next: The Drive North? Check back.

Digging Out

2009-10-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

Back on September 22 we did the "Grape Stomp" where we put the Shanel Syrah into tanks, 25% of which we shoveled in by pitch fork and hand, the remainder went in by the hopper/destemmer. Surely you remember because you have been reading each and every one of my blogs religiously.
Yesterday, October 7, we dug out those very same Shanel grapes; as well as the two tanks of Somerston Cab, which went to tanks September 15. If you count on your fingers you run out of digits. That's between 15 to 23 days that these reds have been cold-soaking, macerating and fermenting. Being helped along by pump mixing, nutrient additions (more on that later), and pump-overs. And...there is still more to do. I will feed this fascinating (to me anyways) process to you over the next week or so.
Before the Big Dig, we drained the Free-Run Juice off the cap or pomace into another tank, so now in the new tank there is just juice. We let this process go on overnight so the initial big gush of free-run turns into just a little trickle as the cap sinks down the original tank and pushes that beautiful nectar through to the awaiting new tank.

Then we get our boots on and start digging. That's our enologist Lydia digging out the Somerston. She's hooked to a safety line and there is a CO2 monitor connected to the tank that will beep like crazy if it gets to dangerous in there. The top of the tank is vented and a fan is blowing the CO2 down and out.

The pomace/cap goes into the bins that Apo is standing next to; the bins get dumped into the Red Press that Sam and I prepped yesterday (check the bottom of yesterday's blog). That becomes what is called Press Wine. It can be used in a variety of ways. More later.
Oh, and here is Denise with the Ramey Pedregal Cab! First stage - to the hopper/destemmer.

As always around Harvest, time is always short. I have to get going, so from inside the Shanel Syrah Sonoma Coast tank #14...I bid you a fond farewell!

Bear Republic...Winery Tuesdays...No Magic for DG

2009-10-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

The Twins Carlos Gomez raced home with one out in the bottom of the 12th inning ...

Paul stood up. Dave's head hit the bar in despair.
A monumental collapse in the last month by his beloved Tigers.
We headed the 3 blocks over to Ramey's Haydon Red Wine Facility to do the evening pumpovers.

Tracy from J Vineyards stopped in before the big Twins rally, a 2-run homer from Orlando Cabrera in the 7th inning gave the Twins a 4-3 lead. We talked BBQ, Texas BBQ! Salt Lick BBQ is a favorite of his, although he seems to be fairly good on the grill himself. Explaining all the nuances of great grilling.
J Vineyards has some Chardonnay coming in Saturday, then Tracy gets some well earned days off as their harvest comes to a close. They started in mid-August. Ramey's 1st Chard came on September 2nd. They are sparkling wine specialists but have some tasty Pinots and Chardonnays too. Do the math. Pinot and Chard are the 2 main grapes in Sparkling Wine.
I was sitting next to Eric, an intern from Ferrari-Carano. They are also finishing up the whites soon. Remember, the F-C reds are now made at PreVail (read the Harvest Basket blog). He is not new to the wine scene, he works on his own smaller winery project. I missed the name probably due to Tigers' Magglio Ordonez's 8th inning homer that tied it 4-4.
The Tigers and Twins both denied in the 10th! Brandon Inge's 2-out double scored what we thought would be the winning run. The Twins answered in the bottom of the frame, but the eventual hero, Twins' Alexi Casillas, was thrown out at the plate to end that inning!
It was at about that time I met Rachael, sales & marketing, and Lyndsey, the enologist, from Williams-Selyem. I am trying to make time to help with their Wine Club weekend pickup in November. Our enologist was an intern at this famous Pinot house.
Dave's old buddy, the winemaker from Everett Ridge, seemed to distract him from the drama, but no way...he knew the exact count, outs, ERA, and batting averages of everyone involved.
Didn't really get to speak much with the 3 red-wine-stained interns from Dry Creek Vineyard (obviously from down under) or Chuck from B.R.Cohn, although as you might remember I have fond memories of old Moose.
The 163rd game of a 162-game season goes even longer. The 1st ever extra-inning Tie-Breaker in American League History. The Tigers blew a bases-loaded 12th inning opportunity and then the Gomez heroics!
It was an exciting game!
Tuesdays are wine industry day at the Bear Republic.
Just 90 feet off the Healdsburg Plaza. An unexpected side-trip into the world of wine. The real folks that sweat and toil - blowing off some steam at the end of a hard day's work (or just taking a break). Sitting elbow to elbow with me - the guy with the red wine stained jeans, beat up muck boots and the smell of sour grape pomace on him.
Don't Worry! The Red Wine Press is ready for tomorrow's Somerston Cabernet!

Pedregal is coming.....

October! Fall is here

2009-10-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

Wow. October 5th.
I have now been away from Bob's for 6 weeks.
I am just finding my way around Ramey's white wine facility. Starting to feel somewhat comfortable. Can actually set up a tank for racking without asking too many questions.
Today we are getting Chardonnay from Martinelli's Charles Ranch. Two miles from the Pacific Ocean, the Charles family raised sheep here for 130 years. They switched to the Burgundian grapes - Chard and Pinot Noir - in the '70s.

Hello again from the Flying Goat Coffee shop! It is a chilly 45 degrees. I got up early and I am still excited about being here.
I know I said the Chardonnay harvest was coming to a close over a week ago, but then the weather turned just enough to slow down some of the ripening. So, we'll get the Charles Ranch Chard, process it and do some work on the barrels afterwards, but now most of our attention will turn to the reds.

When I was at Sbragia Family Vineyards yesterday, Ed Sbragia himself mentioned that they were in a similar situation (I love name dropping, as if we're old buddies). He says the sugars are right but the cab grapes are telling him to wait just a bit more. I think it was that heat spike a week or so back. Sbragia (think just 2 syllables - sbra.gia - per Kathy in tasting room, that's her with Ed in photo); they are farmers too. All the talk here in Sonoma is big crop and grapes going unsold. Ed mentioned that he waited to see where the market would go before selling his grapes and perhaps he waited too long. Sbragia should have plenty of 2009 wine available a few years from now. But that's okay. Have you ever tried his Gamble Ranch Chardonnay? Or the Monte Rosso Cab? Beautiful wines! He procures fruit from vineyards which he has built relationships with during his 30+ years at Beringer, where he is still the Winemaster. Similar to Ramey, Sbragia uses many Napa Valley Vineyards as well as staying true to his hometown roots in Dry Creek and Sonoma.
(Note to Bob's Girls: do you remember when Ed came to town last year? Party in dome room. He did a vertical tasting of Beringer Private Reserve Cabs dating back to 1982. Their is a magnum signed by him in the cellar window by table 402, check it out. He left us about 8-10 vintages to share that night).

Overheard around town: I finally got a haircut! Two months and I was looking like something out of a Groucho Marx film. While waiting for the clippers, the guy in the chair ahead of me mentioned that he had just sold his grapes to Jordan. Sold one day, picked the next. That's the way 2009 is going. He seemed happy and a bit relieved.
Many growers are "selling" to custom crush facilities on a 50-50 split basis. They crush the grapes and make the wine at their cost and keep half the wine. The grower keeps the other half, maybe selling it on the bulk market or bottling and selling it later. Just so they don't have to drop the fruit on the vineyard floor and get nothing at all for a year's work.
Merry Edwards finished a load of that fantastic Sauvignon Blanc Saturday and they are done with the 2009 Harvest. Likewise at Hirsch. They put the 2009 Crush to rest late last week and will start bottling other vintages this week. I do believe most, if not all, the Pinot producers have finished.
A little scary to think that those interns are done and heading home. I miss you guys back in Dallas but I'm not ready to leave this beautiful country just yet!
Finally, I will leave you with this silly photo. My version of Abbey Road:

Until next episode, drink some wine, there is plenty more in the pipeline!

Rockpile

2009-10-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

I decided to take your classic "Sunday Drive" this morning. What prompted me was last night's Wine Club release party at Mauritson. Rick talked extensively about Lake Sonoma and the Rockpile AVA a few weeks back.

After meeting most of the Mauritson crew including the winemaker, Clay,his brother Cameron (Andrew's friend) and the Cellar Master, Matt, we got to try more Rockpile wines and snack on some tasty hors d'oeuvres. They were pouring the Cemetery Vineyard Zin. So delicious that Chris & Robin took home a case.

So, this morining I hopped in the truck and 20 minutes later I was approaching the massive earth-fill Warm Springs Dam. Construction of this dam began in 1967 but delays (that wonderful red tape) had the project going until the early '80s.

A pretty spectacular result! I was only 22 miles from Robin's house, only 30 minutes into my Sunday Drive when I reached the Rockpile AVA.

My truck has time and temp but not elevation. The state park ranger told me I was 1200 feet up. Wouldn't you know, right after I tumbled down the hill from that Rockpile sign, a Mauritson truck full of Zin rumbled passed me.

The vineyards in this AVA are parked in every nook & cranny; snaking along ridges and climbing up steep slopes just to plunge back down a valley. It is mind-boggling to think about what it takes to work these vineyards. They have to be a minimum 800 feet in elevation although more than 95% are over 1000 feet, with some as high as 2100 feet. Without bogging you down in too much detail, the gist of this AVA (american viticulture area) is clusters of smaller-berried, intense fruit.
Minutes before you make the turn into the Lake Sonoma visitors center is Sbragia Family Vineyards. You can see Warm Springs Dam looming right from their tasting room. I have to go do Ramey's red wine pumpovers now. Perhaps I'll have more time later to tell you about my visit to this long-time California winemaking legend.
All this in less than 90 minutes! What a country.

Halloween Treat!

2009-10-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

There is a nice article about David Ramey beginning on page 74 of The Wine Spectator.
Discover more fun things about The Rameys, Ramey Cellars and a bit of California winemaking history.

Pick up a copy of the October 31, 2009 Wine Spectator. It just hit the newstands yesterday. I picked up a few extra copies myself, to commemorate my time here. (ps - this wasn't even a paid ad)

Guess Who's in Healdsburg? Return to Glory

2009-10-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

Got this right off the Spy-wire! TMZ's got nothing on me. I get the scoop!

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.

Handcar Regatta...Welcome to Bizarro World!

2009-09-28T23:14:00.000-07:00

Bohemian, Goth, Alice in Wonderland, Interview With The Vampire, Deep Ellum Dallas, Back to the Future, 1890s, Willie Wonka, Wild Wild West...freaks, geeks, goblins and gouls. And some very creative and brilliant mechanical engineers. The racers had all kinds of bells and whistles and bicycle parts and metal clanging. Bands featuring, and I quote, lonesome prairie triphop, gypsy jazz, pirate chants, glockenspiels, Left Coast punk and oh so much more!
(click on any picture to enlarge it, then click the back arrow on your browser to come back to the fun)

This past Sunday

September 27, 2009

The Handcar Regatta

Santa Rosa, CA

The Winner is...!!!!

Turning Red...more geek speak

2009-09-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

As the Chardonnay harvest comes to a close, the Ramey team is slowly transitioning to Cab and Syrah.
Hello again. I apologize for the down-time. But, I am back at my favorite cafe. It's sunny (the past few days have started out foggy and cool) and there is already some kind of Arts Festival setting up in the Healdsburg Square. Dog lovers are gathering. Bicyclists are in force. Weekends are great around here.
Today, we are getting in possibly the last of the Chardonnay from a vineyard way out on the Sonoma Coast. The Platt Vineyard is 6.5 miles from the Ocean near the town of Bodega! David Ramey helped with the design of this vineyard. The layout of this cool-climate vineyard allows the smaller, earlier-ripening Chardonnay clones to be harvested at a more consistent ripeness and often at lower brix (sugar levels) to produce lower alcohol wines. (so the theory goes). I'll be working on those grapes here in a few hours. (cleaning the press is work).

That beautiful, soupy mixture is a picture from the top of one of those big stainless tanks that holds thousands of gallons of wine. Usually, in our tanks anywhere from 1920 to 6166 gallons.
As I mentioned in previous epsisodes, after getting the grapes into the tank, we soak them until they start to ferment on their own. No cultured yeasts, wild or indigenous yeast that are on the grapes begins the fermentation in about 5-7 days. more or less.
Right now 6 tanks have red grapes. Four are in the fermentation stage, two are still in the 1st stage-soaking or maceration, as they say.
The maceration is a very effective way of releasing color and flavor from the skins. However, eventually the pomace forms a floating cap of solids while the juice is trapped beneath it. This is a rich environment that can convert the vat into vinegar overnight! Lots of warmth, oxygen and acetic bacteria. So, to avoid that terrible result, we hook up hoses and gently pump juice from the bottom of the tank into the top of the tank, with a fitting that goes just inches under the surface to keep that cap moist. It is the hard cap that creates the danger zone. On the soaks, we do this procedure once a day for anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on a formula that the winemaker sets up in relation to volume.
When you stick your face into that tank top and it knocks you back with a good dose of CO2 and you cannot breathe (a very scientific technique) then fermentation has begun and we switch to pump-overs.
The pump-overs are similar to the process above. The main difference is that we use an irrigator on the top. You can see one side of it in the above picture. Now the cap is being pushed up by heat and carbon dioxide. Basic formula: grape sugars + yeast = alcohol & carbon dioxide. That spraying arm extends and twists to the other side and sprays in the opposite direction. It spins in circles to moistened the entire cap (again for 10 to 30 minutes or so).We do pump-overs twice a day. Right now it is 6 tanks total. Paul tells me at some point in the near future it will be 20 or so tanks.
So, that's what I've learned so far on the reds. More to come I'm sure. The guys assure me that soon I will not be able to get the Red out of my hands!
Sunday is almost here. Another road trip? Stay in touch.

Grape Stomp...or sorry I didn't get back to you but I was knee deep

2009-09-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was fun!
Shanel Vineyard Syrah is from Sonoma Mountain. When it arrived at Ramey it was still very cool to the touch. Almost as if we had just pulled it from the fridge. That's a result of these cool Sonoma Coast mornings. Today it is starting out in the 50s.
Greetings again from my new office, Flying Goat Coffee on the Healdsburg Square!
You actually do stomp grapes at Ramey. Literally. The Syrahs. We put 25% whole clusters right into those big stainless tanks. Then we put the rest of the grapes through that whole hopper-destemmer-auger process that I explained. That's Denise getting into the tank. (yes, she did just sanitize those boots). Steve is going to start throwing buckets of grapes in after her. Several tons worth!

The Shanel vineyard gives fruit-forward, jammy Syrah. By adding those whole clusters to the tank it adds structure, complexity, and some other flavor dimensions including a peppery component to balance out that fruit (thanks to our enologist, Lydia, for that explanation).

You shovel as much as you can as fast as you can out of that little doorway and then you get to start stomping!
So, sorry I didn't return your calls but I was knee-deep in Shanel Syrah grapes! Truly a team effort.

From The Flying Goat...Week 4

2009-09-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in The Flying Goat Coffee shop just off the Square in Healdsburg, CA. I love this town! In just a few hours I will begin my 4th week as a Harvest Intern.
What's been happening lately?
It gets hot here too. But, at night it cools off. The area has been getting temps in the high-90s and maybe even 100 degrees. At least that's what the Explorer SportTrac recorded the other day. This morning it's only 60 degrees, as are most mornings lately. Ok, so what am I, the damn weatherman? No, I was just mentioning this because it does affect what we do in the winery.
Apparently, it has sped up some of the picking. The heat speeds up the ripening, causing sugar levels to rise, acidity to drop. There is also the possibility of sunburned or raisined grapes. We don't want that. So, according to my sources (ok, Dave the Cellar Master) this means Chardonnay is coming in a little faster than normal. We should be finished pressing Chardonnay soon. Maybe in the next few days.
Slowly, we have been getting in some of the red grapes. Sam, the intern from Boston, got to work on some Syrah on Saturday, I helped with some more Cab the day before. This trickle of reds should be a flood in the coming days.
I actually am heading in to help with some more Syrah today. Gotta run. But, check back. I took a ride into Northern Napa Valley yesterday.

Celebrate! It's Not All Work

2009-09-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Cheers to Ramey's Associate Wine Maker, Cameron Frey! Happy Birthday!

A few nice bottles of Pouilly-Fume, Pinot Noir, and Syrah to accompany Chef Paul's grilled chipotle-honey brushed Salmon and an array of amazing side dishes!

Of course, it is harvest, so we didn't sit down until after the Press was loaded with those beautiful Hyde Vineyards Robert Young clone 17 and Trancas Corton clone Chardonnay grapes. Notice the empty seats. Guest of honor is finishing up the delivery.

Work never ceases during Crush. That's David Ramey on the far left, speaking with Covenant Wines' Associate Winemaker. Cameron's working the phones.

We have these lunches and celebrations at least once a week. This next picture is from last week when they called me in early ---- TO EAT AND DRINK WINE! That's a first.

The hours during harvest are just crazy. They are long and the work can be grueling.

Amidst a flurry of cellar activity, we will just stop, shut everything down for an hour or so, set out the tables, Paul cooks and we all share food, wine, laughter and conversation. Everyone relaxes and we get to know each other, celebrate life. It seems to be important to the Ramey's.

Harvest Baskets in The Alexander Valley

2009-09-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

Just because a person is having fun, doesn't mean they don't work hard.
I received a call just as I was about to take a nap before my afternoon shift:
"Would you like to take a ride around Alexander Valley? I'm dropping off Harvest Baskets to some of my clients." Robin, of M.A. Silva Corks, was on a mission to deliver goodies she personally put together for her winery friends. Dropping off beer and snacks always makes a person welcome.

In Dallas, with the heat and the lack of scenery, the answer would have been --- "click-- dial tone." No way I'm giving up my nap before a shift. But, this was an intriguing offer.
Thirty minutes later I'm winding through and high above Alexander Valley. An overlooked gem in wine country. We had time to stop at three places. By coincidence they varied in size small, medium and large. Stuhlmuller, Stryker and PreVail.

Stuhlmuller is a tiny picturesque red barn-like winery with the Press, Tanks and other various winery equipment outside under a canopy. The Red Barn is the barrel room and was brimming with barrels right to the door. It was just the winemaker, Leo, and two interns. Robin loves these wines. A busy time at Stuhlmuller. We'll be back to taste the wines when I am off.

I was a guest of Ferrari-Carano back in 2004. It was amazing to now roam the vast and ultra-modern PreVail property. Something that was talked about 5 years previous. A high-tech, modern gem with caves included. Their caves criss-cross under the mountain like a small town. Peter, PreVail's enologist, was very friendly and did not seem to mind the interruption at all. He seemed to enjoy speaking to us about the place. He was there from the inception in 2003. The caves came first, then they built the winery. Just a breathtaking place. Check out this view from their driveway (a mile or so long driveway).

Stryker's architecture is a thing of beauty. Look at the background in the final photo. They use the slotted screens in a unique way so that visitors can also view the working winery and vineyards from inside the tasting room or from the patio decks. That's Jen, the assistant winemaker with Stryker's co-founder, Craig surrounding Robin.
Ironically, they were working on a load of Martinelli Chardonnay grapes that was also destined for Ramey. I would be working on those same Martinelli grapes in just an hour or so.

Harvest can be a hectic time. It is both gratifying and stressful. Think about it - the winery's whole year depends on closing out these last few months successfully. Any setbacks or misfortunes and a whole year is wasted. Just look to Southern Brunello last year - 7 minutes of hail ruined many acres right before the harvest. A Harvest Basket is a gesture of goodwill and a thank you, not something that will make or break your season. Still, it means someone was thinking about the people they've worked with all year; maybe for many years. All ships rise. Their success is your success. (and besides, a little love is always a good thing).

It was a ritual that I was glad to take part in and I was rewarded by meeting some of the best and most respected people in Sonoma. I was welcomed into some of Alexander Valley's top wineries.

ps - later when I was at work, that girl from M.A. Silva Corks dropped off some beer and a basket of goodies for the Ramey crew!

Cabernet 2009 Kicks Off!

2009-09-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

Somerston Vineyard Cabernet from St. Helena, Napa Valley came in on Monday afternoon! The first arrival of 2009 Cabs. That's me in front of bins that totaled about 5.5 tons of those small tiny dark berries that will magically be transformed into delicious Ramey Cabernets!

Our assistant cellarmaster, Paul, dumps the very 1st bin into the Hopper. This has a corkscrew-like fitting in the center bottom of that bin that moves the grapes in a somewhat orderly line. You can see that corkscrew thing called an auger in the bottom right corner.

From the 1st hopper-auger it is funneled into the amazing machine called the Puleo destemmer, (sorry for this awful tilted picture) which somehow manages to separate the stems from the berries (too complicated to explain the machine, maybe video in another episode). It spits the stems out one side into an awaiting bin on the right in the last photo and drops the juice and whole berries into another auger. This final auger moves the juice through a gentle pump which pushes it into the bottom of a big jacketed tank set to 60 degrees. Later there will be more to the red wine process. I will share as I learn so check back. Today, it is more Chardonnay arriving. At least 3 loads!

Trading Football for Wine, The Dry Creek Valley Drive

2009-09-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

Fifty yards outside of the small town of Healdsburg a sign welcomes you to Dry Creek Valley.

That's what I did Sunday. Forsake the NFL for another wine road trip! Pure Craziness! Text updates from my brother, Marvin, in Dallas, kept me informed that the Cowboys are on their way to The Super Bowl.

Met some interns from Twomey. Twomey-West that is. Kim, Marta and Matt were on a lunch break, but decided to check in with Andy, a partner at Lambert Bridge. I learned a little about two wineries on one stop. Zin is king in Dry Creek Valley (although Andy informed me that Cab is the most planted varietal), and the Lambert Bridge version was a winner. Look for their Forchini Vineyard Zin.

Lambert Bridge has a connection to Ramey as well. Andy sees David Ramey on the road during trade tastings and the Winemaker and Associate Winemaker know David from his days at Simi in the early '80s!

The Twomey-West interns were from Australia (Matt), Spain (Marta) & Oregon (Kim), Pictured below with Andy on the right.. They invited me to come visit the new Twomey facility on Westside Road (surely you know that Twomey is a sister winery to the Silver Oak wineries). They were doing Pinot Noir punch-downs on this day. Twomey Pinot Noir-I'll have to take them up on that offer.

Oh, another cool Lambert Bridge connection: Andy was roommates with former Mavericks great, Steve Nash in college. I'm still bitter about the Mavs letting Nash get away.

Another small family-owned winery is Passalaqua - Italian for "flowing waters." They do an array of single-vineyard Zins. Tony in the tasting room says a large percent of Sonoma vineyards are small family owned plots, 25-acres or smaller.

Across the street was Dry Creek Vineyard. Karen was helpful in pouring some great Cab-based wines: The Mariner and The Endeavor were two standouts.. She also knows David from his Simi days. Dry Creek Vineyard was the official wine of the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Actually the 9th straight year they were pouring wines at the event.

I then stopped at The Dry Creek General Store (since 1881) and had a black bean tamale on the porch, read the Sunday paper and watched the misty rain and fog drift over the mountains.

The great thing about a hard, physical job is moments like this.

I almost blew off the last stop of the day, Mauritson Vineyards. But, I'm only here for 3 months and I know I'll be working most days. In I went and Rick was only too happy to serve me and give me a brief history of the area as well as of Mauritson. History & Mauritson go hand-in-hand. They've been around since 1868! At one point in the '60s they had about 4000 acres in the Rockpile region (An AVA in far north dry creek valley). The Army Corps of engineers took over 3000 acres and created Lake Sonoma. Check that out on your Wine-country maps. Also, think about someone having the kind of foresight to plant grapes in such a remote area back when wine was not that popular in America. Mauritson has a deep list of single-vineyard Rockpile Zins. They really are distinct, especially when you get to compare and contrast them side by side with a host like Rick to guide you through what makes each wine different. I took home Rockpile-Jack's Cabin Vineyard.

Rave reviews from Chris, Robin, Andrew & TC at dinner. Robin had prepared an amazing BBQ Rib dinner. Perfect for some Mauritson Rockpile Zin! Turns out the Mauritson's are friends of Andrew (Robin's son). Andrew's friend Clay Mauritson is also good friends with Charlie Palmer (The Chef) They make wine from Palmer's vineyard called Charlie Clay Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. The ever-affable Rick, shared a drink of this ethereal Pinot Noir. Chef Palmer lives in the area.

Rick himself bought a ton of grapes one year and tried his hand at making some Dry Creek Zin. The parties they had doing the crush and later bottling the wine sounded fun but he said so himself, he would have been better off just spending the money on Mauritson wines!

Let's talk about red winemaking next. The 1st cab of 2009 arrived this afternoon!

WARNING, geeks only...Part 2

2009-09-12T01:17:00.000-07:00

Before I continue: I forgot to give you a link to look for all kinds of wine-related jobs. Earlier in the year they did have some intern positions posted.
Another way to get involved is simply send them an email from the winery's website contacts. Russell did this. About 10 is what I think he said.

PART 2
First it was sporadic, but now the grapes seem to be arriving daily. Yesterday we pressed about 25 tons of Chardonnay grapes from two different sources - Ritchie Vineyard & Martinelli Laughlin. So, let's start there:

What's happening and what you will be asked to do as a winery grunt;
The grapes arrive in 93 lb. plastic half-ton bins, They get weighed. For instance, the Martinelli grapes weighed about 15 tons that were in 40 bins. (obviously each bin is not to full capacity. They came at 2 separate times in the day. About 7.5 tons/20 bins per press-cycle. Ritchie was done earlier in the day.
The huge 10-12 ton Press is set up with a sump, pump, hoses & various clamps to a tank on the far side of the cellar. The hoses were sanitized and rinsed. These things are done by the Ramey team including the interns. The tank has previously been washed and sanitized by an intern (more on that process later).
Then an expert with the forklift, usually Cameron, Dave or Paul (associate winemaker, cellarmaster, assistant cellarmaster respectively) start dumping the bins of grapes into the Press. Remember the picture? That Press is about 2-stories high.
Intern washes bins with hose and pushes them outside to be stacked, often 20 or more bins. Think Strongman Contest. Pushing a Volkswagon Bug up a hill (that's after #24). The bins wait to be picked up for next round of grape picking.
Our press is set on a computerized program that takes about 4 hours or so, going through 7 cycles. The short explanation is that a huge bladder inside expands slowly and crushes the grapes, deflates and the drum rotates the grapes and re-inflates and so on. So, we just sit around drinking beer while we wait. NOT!
As I previously mentioned, there are usually many things going on at once. Barrels are being laid out according to the Winemaking team's specs - David Ramey's specs. A random example not specific to this episode would be 8 new french oak, 12 '07 and '08 barrels, 4 older oak barrels and maybe 4 completely stainless barrels. The new and stainless barrels are rinsed. The older ones are washed and steamed. Yesterday, we did 5 minutes with 180 degree water on each barrel. You can do the math and see that a process like this can take all day. One day we did 120 barrels. The barrel washing and steaming and rinsing hoses all have to be clamped to faucets. I mention this because nothing here is too heavy but it adds up, like doing reps with light weights, only for 7, 8, 9 or more hours. Your moving each piece of equipment from barrel to barrel. Bending and lifting constantly. Spinning empty barrels to drain them. Hoses are long and get caught. Its a constant struggle. Nothing major but the tugging and pulling and carrying them up ladders and it all just wears you out. (I can eat all the carbs I want and still have my blood sugar drop).
Back to the original process of pressing Martinelli. When the grapes are done you go backwards. The pomace (pressed grapes, stems, seeds, etc) is rotated out of the Press and into bins. The bins get dumped into a dumpster specifically used for pomace. I believe a company picks it up and it is recycled back into vineyards and farms. Interns get to jump into the pomace dumpster with a pitch-fork and rearrange that mess. "Green Acres" style. The hoses are rinsed, the million pieces of pomace are sprayed off the floor and then you get to clean the Press.
Don the wet suit!!! The first time it took me about 2 to 2.5 hours, at least that's what it seemed like but it is not an exaggeration. You spray this beast with all its little slots and crevices inside, the bladder has creases, the damn grapes begin to seem like roaches due to your fatigue-induced psychosis. They just keep appearing and coming at you. Pure, steamy hell. I need to be more organized. Come up with a plan. Shave minutes off my time. It can be done. You sweat, you're wet in spite of the rain gear. You scream and cuss into the emptiness. And suddenly, its over.
Final floor spray and sweep. A look around to roll up hoses and wires. Pitch-fork the pomace dumpster if you need more room for tomorrow and crack open an ice cold beer!

Okay, so ... even though I signed up for all this, it took some mental scoldings to remind myself that I am here to learn. It is hard not to just put your head down. Grind away. I did it the whole first day. Just keep up Andy. Don't be a whimp or f*ck-up. But then I started to look around, try to make some sense of it all.
Next episode we'll go over some stuff. Stuff that might make you feel better about what you are doing. Until its time to clean the press again. Get moving Grunt!

Do You Really Want to Know...WARNING, geeks only. Part 1

2009-09-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

I mentioned earlier that I would go into the details of what I do in an actual day of intern work. (CellarRat. Grunt) These next few episodes will only interest someone contemplating applying for an internship. Do not feel bad if you tune out on these chapters.

First off, if you are thinking glamour and the romance of the vine, you need not apply.
So much time is spent on sanitizing to start the day and hours, yes hours, spent cleaning up at the end of the shift. You get wrinkled fingers and you girls - forget about your manicures.

In case you missed it, I am at Ramey Cellars in Healdsburg, CA. We (do i get to say 'we' after only 1 week?) make Chardonnays and Napa Valley Cabs and a small amount of incredible Syrah. We are located at two facilities that resemble warehouses more than your typical image of a winery. 25 Healdsburg is the newer of the two. The Haydon St. location used to be a Clos du Bois facility if I understood correctly. They are only about 5 minutes apart. Ramey is not surrounded by vineyards. We have some nice palm trees and fir trees lining Healdsburg Ave though. There are some long-term leases with vineyards in Sonoma and Napa Valley. According to Denise, the veteran of us grunts, it is also a bonus that we get to work indoors. Many wineries, including Ramey back in the day, do much of the barreling and tank work outside under canopies. It's not Texas heat but it can get hot later in the day.

You have to apply for an internship earlier in the year. I would say January to May. I started applying in late November, 2008, probably not necessary. By the time we are all here there should be 5 interns. Apollene arrived in August. That's early. But, something to do with her school requirements. You don't even want to know all the hoops and paperwork she went through to get here from France. She spent a whole lot of time cleaning and painting and topping up barrels of wine. She did get some valuable experience in the lab with our enologist Lydia. I started on September 1, as did Denise (she's worked several harvests). Sam, from Boston arrived today and one more will join us later. Sam's family owns Federal Wine & Spirits in Boston. A chance dinner with David Ramey and his father landed him this gig. The guy already sounds like a wiz in the art of brewing. Yes beer! Apo leaves in mid-October. I'm scheduled till the end of November and some will be here till mid-December. I believe you can negotiate start and end dates but I didn't ask. I'm here for as long as they need me (or till they ask me to get the hell out).

So, where to start? There usually isn't just one process going on in a cellar. Generally you have multiple tasks going on at once. Remember there are at least 3 vintages being worked on, more if you they are aging a wine for longer than usual. After only 9 days, I see that we are working on 2007s, 2008s and the 2009 grapes that are arriving now....

Check back soon. Chardonnays arrive first

Labor Day 2009

2009-09-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Two days off in a row. Two days in The Russian River Valley tasting wines!

I started on River Road this time. I got another boatload of scenic pictures, tasted Martinelli reds (the Bondi Home Ranch "Water Trough Vineyard" Pinot '07 had me asking for a 2nd pour), some truly delicious wines from Hartford Family Winery in Green Valley (which is nested inside of the Russian River Valley which is nested inside of the larger Sonoma appellation - you know, sort of like those Russian Matryoshka dolls). You really have to try these wines. The '06s: Four Hearts Chard, Far Coast Pinot and the regular RRV Zin all showed well today. Actually, all their wines were tasty. Rich, the tasting room guy, seemed to enjoy sharing his immense knowledge of the area. Talking to me about the Petaluma Gap winds and the Sonoma Coast fogs & winds and their affect on the vineyards and the types of grapes grown here. Many of the Zin Vineyards survived prohibition because they were all small family-owned spots that were used for "home winemaking." Lots of 90-100 year old vines. I had the added bonus of getting to speak a bit with the vineyard manager, Walt. We had an interesting conversation about food & wine pairings. He asked me if I thought immediately of what food would go well with a wine when I first taste it. So, I will ask that question of you: Does a certain dish or style of food come to mind when you are at a tasting?

Welcome to Porter Creek. An organic farm. All the estate grapes and estate wines are made biodynamically. (benziger has a good easy explanation)

That is the tiny tasting room. Didn't expect that crowd when I opened the door.

In addition to the Pinot & Chard they do some interesting Rhone-style wines.

The Syrah and Viognier come from Timbervine Ranch, 10-acres of grapes. Farmed by that man in the bottom photo.

Joe has been farming Sonoma for 30 years. "When you think about it, that's only 30 chances to get it right. You have to talk to others with experience and pass it down." (to paraphrase). I didn't have my pen out but I would have loved to record our brief 10 minutes together. He had some interesting things to say. There was talk of Mountain Lions eating Hawks, Wild Pigs eating all the corn. Bobcats. He grows apples. Robert Parker and Stephen Tanzer rated another winery's Timbervine Syrah extremely high and now he's the newest kid on the block...30 years he's been farming there. Steep timber-lined vineyards on Black Mountain. Porter Creek Timbervine Syrah had massive white pepper notes. A dramatic wine for those Syrah fans out there!

The Timbervine Viognier is an easy pick. Rich and silky with lots of those aromatic fruits. A juicy to-die-for white!

I loved the past 2 days of traveling the winding, scenic roads with the windows down and the sun shining. Lots & lots of fantastic wines! But, as you can tell, I really truly enjoyed all the people I've met this Labor Day weekend.

The Long & Winding (Westside) Road

2009-09-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

I finished a 12.5 hour shift at 3:39 AM Sat/Sun.

Brundage called me at 7:30 AM. I thought I was going to die......or kill her.

Then I realized, it's sunny! It's Sunday! I'm in Healdsburg! I'm off!!!

No A.C. necessary. SportTrac windows down.

Hello Russian River Valley. Westside Road runs directly out of Healdsburg through Dry Creek Valley. This tree-lined country road winds into the famous Russian River Valley appellation through a sea of vineyards; mostly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Do you realize Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill, Dry Creek Valley and the Russian River Valley all converge on Healdsburg?

To make this road trip (can I even call this a road trip, everything is so damn close) even more appealing is that Rochioli is on Westside Road. We just pressed 6 tons of Rochioli Chard yesterday. Somebody at Ramey racked and barreled it today. Not me, I'm off remember. Hey, Look at the weather in that photo from Rochioli's patio. Ask for Rose in their tasting room, she was extremely friendly. She helped get my day off to a great start.

I was supposed to go to The Sonoma Wine Country Weekend yesterday. MacMurray Ranch hosted the big event. The 30th Annual Showcase: Taste of Sonoma! Instead, I got to wash that giant Press that I was so happy to show you a few episodes back. So, I snuck in and took this picture. Sort of like those stupid tourist T-shirts that say "Mom went to blah blah and all I got was this t-shirt." I did not know MacMurray Ranch was in the Russian River Valley. We sell their Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir by the glass. Shame on me (i did know it was in sonoma, give me some credit)

Took a detour onto Sweetwater Springs. The Rochioli Chard grapes were from around here. Didn't see those vineyards but got this view looking sort of North. Do the scenic shots wear you out? Sorry, I love them.
It's 100 square miles of asphalt around DFW.

Back onto Westside Road. Gary Farrell winery is mentioned in several wine publications as having one of the best tasting rooms. It did not disappoint. After navigating the incredibly steep driveway I had the best time with some newlyweds and a couple from Houston on their 1st Anniversary. We all agreed that the '07 Westside Farms, RRV Chardonnay was a winner. I bought the '06 Starr Ridge Vineyard, RRV Pinot. That's Gary's own vineyard. The '06 Rochioli-Allen Vineyard Pinot was a show-stopper but a little much for my new pay-grade (am I even getting paid).

The newlyweds from Michigan: Steve & Debbie & on their 1st anniversay: Elise & Mike. That's "the lonely guy" in the middle.

All hosted by the ever-patient LaVonne. Another great ambassador for Sonoma wines. Check out the view. That's what you get from the tasting room. The patio view is equally spectacular.

Two of my friends from Westside Farms bid you a fond farewell. Until tomorrow!

Random

2009-09-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

Roses. Somehow, I always pictured my Mom in her backyard planting roses. Welcome to Wasco! This is Wasco, CA. Roses as far as you can see. I did a U-turn to get this picture.

I will explain how this relates to winemaking next episode. Stay tuned.

Valentina. A real firey winemaker from Uruguay. She is doing an internship at Frank Family in Calistoga, Napa Valley. She has worked 8 harvests in her young life, she'll let you know, she is a winemaker, not just an ordinary intern! (that's Chris with her). Tannat is the red wine varietal of choice in Uruguay. She says it is bold and spicy.

Music Festivals and cookouts! Lots to do during Harvest and all through the Summer. Robin took me to Mazzocco in Dry Creek. Soulshine Blues Band! Beautiful setting. Bring your own food. Perfect weather.

No sorrow for me today

2009-09-03T23:12:00.000-07:00

So, today we'll press tons of Hudson grapes and that's 340 barrels of Napa Cab we're pumping from tank to....

Oh to hell with it,

BREAK TIME!!!!

Did you know I used to be somebody...

2009-09-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

Forlorn and desolate. Enviously, my gaze kept wandering to the 2nd floor tasting room. It seemed just a short time ago that I was the one being wined and dined. Now it was my fellow wine directors, the guys from the great Boulevard Restaurant in San Francisco, that spent several hours tasting Ramey wines accompanied by our on-site Chef's fragrantly scented rack of lamb, cheese plates and other tasty goodies.

Meanwhile, another round of barrel washing for the grunt. My pants look like modern art!

Actually, pretty exciting times (i think). Tomorrow Chardonnay grapes from Hudson Vineyard in the Carneros region will be arriving. That is the Associate Winemaker, Cameron Frey, cleaning, rinsing and sanitizing the huge press getting ready for the start of Harvest 2009!

So You Want to be a Winemaker...or The September Call-up

2009-09-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

I felt like an MLB rookie getting the September call-up.
I can't say I wasn't warned. It was definitely more physical than being a sommelier. I don't feel too bad right now (7:15 PM) but ask me in the morning.

That's CellarMaster Dave wheeling around on the forklift. Those barrels have a pump called a bulldog. The Ramey team selected the barrels to use for a blend & we pumped the juice from those barrels into those big silver blending tanks, moving the pump from barrel to barrel. Then we washed the barrels using a high-pressure cleaning pump, moving the pumps from barrel to barrel, sulphered them to prevent microbial activity, moving the cannister from barrel to barrel and that was it. Simple.
BUT, not easy. Obviously, that was the short version. The pumps and hoses and waterlogged clothes got heavier as the day grew longer. Oh, and by the way, it was 300 or so barrels. Dave just kept wheeling them in. Relentlessly. I loved it. Ask me again in week.

The best thing about today was the Ramey people and the interns that I met. They were all so friendly. Everyone works. Everyone has a cool story. Most of them were woman. They were doing all the same physical labor I was doing so I can't be whining tomorrow. The thing that really got me excited was that they all were really into what they were doing.
The grapes start coming in on Thursday.

ps -I am glad I bought the Muck Boots.

Week 1: Terra Valentine

2009-08-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile...we took a drive over the mountains into Napa Valley. Dropped off cork samples to Kathryn Hall then took a drive up Spring Mountain. Terra Valentine is another one of Robin's clients. That funky castle-like building was built by the previous owner. I do mean built by him. He was an eccentric fellow.

Sam Baxter (below), the current winemaker, explained that the guy made some very good wines with a cult-like following in the '70s. But, aahhh...he wasn't much of a people person. He showed up one day, locked the doors and told all the employees to go home. He then ripped out all the vines and planted trees. He wasn't broke. In fact, much later, he donated land to a children's home. This place has all kinds of stained-glass & carved wood, all made by said eccentric. Look closely at the staircase Robin is standing on. Funky grape & vine engraved spiral staircase. Plus, they can make you dizzy walking up 2 flights going round-and-round.

Sam has been with the winery since he was a youngster. His dad use to be the winemaker, vineyard manager and cellarmaster and consulted many other wineries. Sam did lots of those things when he was young. Now he is in charge. The elder Baxter has his own place in Anderson Valley.

Terra Valentine just finished bottling some of the 2007 wines. The hype is that 2007 California could have some blockbuster wines.
Their intern was doing a lot of scrubbing and cleaning equipment. So, I have that to look forward to tomorrow.

Known for big, savory Cabs, I found myself really enjoying a small production Russian River Pinot Noir. You should taste it if you find your way up Spring Mountain.

(ps - ashley, we were up there at cain in '07)

Week 1: Corks!

2009-08-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

Corks!
My landlord and new friend, Robin, works for M.A. Silva Corks. She let me run around with her this morning.
My education started today.
M.A. Silva Corks is a relatively new company. But, Harlan is one of Robin's clients (had to throw that in there). They are dedicated to extremely high-quality, high-standard cork production.

So many things I never think about when I pop those corks. Obvious and not so obvious. Like the fact that corks are coated with paraffin wax or silicon. Without one these coatings you would not be able to pull the cork out.

Other notable things to consider.

Density of the cork is tested. That's to make sure the cork doesn't push into the bottle. Like when you are pressing your corkscrew into it.

Branding, with food-grade ink or fire-branding the logo. Food-grade. The corks are treated like a food product since they are touching the wine.

Adolfo, the quality supervisor, showed me around. Any corks we touched did not go back in those bins.

Length of cork in milimeters. That Caymus Special Selection is a big 60mm. That's unusual. That's expensive. Costs seem to run from 20 cents or so up to and probably over $2 per cork.

That can probably add up quickly on a 100,000 case winery.

There is an in-house artist to help with all the different winery logos, fonts, coloring, etc. Rombauer seems to be a huge client as well as Rodney Strong.

M.A. Silva also puts their own little brand on the cork so it can be tracked back if a winery is using multiple cork suppliers. Don't want to be blamed for another producer's faults.

They are a boutique supplier. Others are bigger but they are all about the quality.

Day 5: Late Edition: 14 hours of driving. I'm Here

2009-08-30T22:21:00.000-07:00

Day 5: Early Edition

2009-08-30T04:35:00.001-07:00

Too Excited!!!

Up at 4:15 AM.

Going to get going.
I want to make it to Healdsburg by this evening. After all, this road trip has been fun. More fun than I had anticipated. But, wine is the reason I'm here! Harvest is almost upon us.

Gotta run. More later.

Day 4: Detour. And It's a Big One. Grand In Fact

2009-08-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

I was up at 6:00 AM.
How did I barely make it to the California border? I started the day in Holbrook, AZ and barely made it to the other side of the state.
I get sidetracked easily.

After only 70 or so miles I exited Hwy 40 and took the 6 mile side trip to see the Meteor Crater.
I was a little gun-shy after a brief 3 mile side trip to see Billy The Kid's grave yesterday. Not so exciting, that one.

Meteor Crater was created 50,000 years ago by a 150-foot iron-nickel meteorite. These pictures can not show you just how massive this Crater is. Way deeper than the picture seems to show. 60 stories down! 2.5 miles around. Think 20 Football fields with 2 million spectators and that's how big it is!
They have a dog-size chunk of the meteorite that you can touch. Scary to think what might happen today if something like that tore through Dallas. Sites like this get my imagination going. Earth below us. Drifting. Falling. Floating. Weightless...the countdown starts...

After a little internal debate, I turned off the trusty TomTom GPS that the Bob's girls gave me as a going away gift. I then headed up Scenic US 89. Over a hundred miles out of my way. The damn English woman inside the TomTom wouldn't shut up. I had to turn her off. She was scolding me.

As I crested the highest point of the drive through the Mountains, Emma texted me that our good customer and Bob's friend, Dick Tanner passed away. Had to pull over for a moment on that note. Dick would drop off his famous Italian Meatballs for the staff from time to time over the years. Not to mention all the fun he had with our bartenders. He will be remembered fondly.

That is not a painting. It is the first viewpoint in The Grand Canyon. This stop alone made it worth the $25, Four Hours and 250 or so extra miles. This Park really deserves a whole day.
So glad I bought the Kodak 10mp camera. I'm figuring it out as this trip goes on. Got the timer to work. Now I don't have to ask strangers to take "the lonley guy's" photo.
(don't forget to click on picture if you want the grand view...ok i'll stop saying grand)

I fell down as the timer snapped this picture. So damn funny to me to know the behind the scenes' story. I went tumbling backwards to the rail as that stunned couple in the background looked down on me-shocked. Check out me biting my lip just before the big fall. The events were already in motion at that point. If not for the rail, it would have been about a mile down. I'm laughing as I type this.

This one is better without the buffoon.
I'm blogging from a place called Needles, CA. Just inside of California. I had to say I made it out of Arizona. I would have gone farther but it's the Mojave Desert. The next stop was 149 miles. I would have chanced breaking down in the middle of the desert near a place called "The Devil's Playground." Not at all appealing. It was 111 degrees when I checked in at 7:00 PM. The desk clerk said it topped out at 116!

A little over 11 hours to Healdsburg. If I don't make any more side trips.

Late update: WildFires in L.A. County! I won't be that far west but...will it spread and what about the smoke?

Day 3: Steeples to Slots...600 Miles...No UFOs

2009-08-28T22:04:00.000-07:00

Good thing we burned those CDs. This is what it looks like just West of Lubbock as you head NW up US84 to Clovis, NM:

Flat.

A daunting site.

Lots of agriculture. Pecans. Cotton. Cotton Gins. Corn Mills. Cattle - dairy & beef. Beef Processing Plants. Various other beaten down Mill-like structures. Towns with names like Lariat, Muleshoe and Shallow Water "where pride runs deep."

So many Church billboards turned into so many Indian Casino billboards. They should ban billboards (or at least limit them). Closer to Lubbock it was gospel stations on the radio. As I drove deeper into New Mexico it was Casinos. Just past the Arizona line you should check out Navajo Nation on 660 AM.

West of Albuquerque the elevation increased. The Scenery improved. So much so that I reached for the camera several times...and swerved dramatically, then over-corrected. When I stopped to take that picture on the way to Lubbock, I forgot to put the truck in park. Quite the scene - me running down the shoulder and jumping in the slow rolling vehicle. Did I mention I get a little scatterbrained?

Ok. Question of the Day! (stealing a line from Wine Library TV's Gary Vaynerchuk). What do you think is a good driving song?

I like the ones that you can scream the lyrics. Yelling right at the windsheild. No one around to offend. I think I picked a couple of good ones. The Cure - Just Like Heaven. Live - Lightning Crashes. Led Zeppellin - Fool in the Rain. The Killers - Mr Brightside.

There's a Louisiana girl I like. Lelia Broussard. Check out "I'm Not Waiting." And the last 2 tracks on Matchbox 20 - can't remember the names (it is getting late).

But, I definitely need some suggestions. Can't believe I didn't burn some Buddy Holly. Oh well, in the morning I will make a new CD. Three states and 600 miles can wear you out on any artist.

I'll leave you with this. Click on pics for a bigger, clearer version.

Day 2: Part 2, Follow-Up.

2009-08-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

After that morning Starbucks: Jammin at The Buddy Holly Studios!!!

Then to see my new, old friend, Kim McPherson. The best damn winemaker in Texas?! He is just such a nice guy. Must be. Jason, his all-around man in the tasting room, graduated from Tech and stayed on for 11 years now.

That's Kim in the photo.

He says they were to bottle Sangria that day (I'm a day behind on this part 2) but a membrane (filter?) had a hole in it (after the internship I will know what the heck he was talking about. haha) So, if all went right, they were up this morning (Friday, Aug 28) bottling Sangria at 6:00 AM.

They will start picking Sangiovese from his father's vineyard on Monday.

We sat out on the patio and shared a bottle of Kim's DBS - dolcetto, barbera, sangiovese. From his friend, Paolo's vineyards in New Mexico! Yeah, New Mexico. Delicious stuff.

The big talk in the wine business in Lubbock has to do with sales of alcohol in the city. It passed a few months back. Previously, you had to go to "The Strip" to buy alcohol. However, there are a few legal snaggles before everything moves forward.

Ashley will be the assistant Wine Steward at Market Street when it does go into effect. Kim and Susan gave her the 1st official recognition as such.

Then My Texas Rangers beat the hated-Yankees in New York! Winning 2 of 3 in NY.

Todd, Ashley & I watched the Little Leaguers play. More exciting than the Pros today.

California came back to beat Georgia 11-10!

All-in-all a keeper of a day. Cheers!

Day 2: Welcome to The Caprock

2009-08-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Sitting in a Starbucks with my dear friend Brundage. She's helping me pick out music from iTunes. She's old school. Led Zepplin, Depeche Mode, etc. Downloading photos & music with a friend is the best.
I also got to spend an hour with another Bob's alumn, shout out to Jen.
The plan is to check out the Buddy Holly museum. He is from Lubbock. Then over to see our new friend and winemaker, Kim McPherson. He went to UC-Davis with David Ramey. Last time he told us David owes him a beer. Kim is from one of the oldest Texas winemaking families. Llano Estacado I believe. I'll double check today.
Last night was Tamale Enchiladas courtesy of Chef Bug. Gizmo helped with the dishes. Todd & I watched the Rangers get pummeled. He played Triple-A for the NY Mets back in the day.

This was my view driving through West Texas. Lots of oil pumpjacks, wind turbines, cotton, corn & maize (there is a difference - people eat corn, cattle eat maize. Which do you prefer) and lots and lots of scrub.

Day 1: Good-Bye To You!

2009-08-26T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Girls & Javi say farewell

Courtroom Sketch by Lisa the Artist

Me on one of my better days

check...check...check...

2009-08-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

You just know I'm going to forget something.

I dragged out the suitcases, threw some sweatshirts, jeans and the usual unmentionables. I've made more of a mess than anything really. Can't very well pack the laptop and all the accessories just yet. Or the phone. Or my toothbrush, soap & deodorant. Notice I didn't mention a comb or a brush or hairdryer. Ha! I've got that advantage on you people.
The pickup has new tires, the air checked, tank full, all systems go (hope hope). I actually spray washed it prepping for a new layer of bugs.
The banking is done. Not much to worry about there. That's why they invented plastic. Did have a minor setback. My brother Marvin's car broke down. So, this weekend we chipped in together to get it fixed.

No neck-ties!!!!!

I am not even bringing any dress clothes. Don't imagine I'll be invited to any gala events. I do hope to explore as many parts of Sonoma, Napa and the Coast as I can possibly squeeze in. If I have any energy left after my shifts. So, I did pack a bathing suit.
I have packed my World Atlas of Wine. Don't know why. But, I think I will leave all other wine books and magazines here. This is a learning trip. And I want to break the Andy-mold. I suppose many sommeliers and trade members can relate to all the notes, notebooks, magazines and books that I have stuffed into my little room/office. A real fire hazard.
Mainly, I think proper clothing and those Muck boots are the main things not to forget. We can laugh at that statement later maybe.
I wish I had thought about music. There are long stretches of TX, NM, AZ, NV that look like they could use ambience. I know because I just picked up a Rand McNally Road Atlas for $2.48 at Half-Price books. Oh sure, I'm mapquesting it too. (no smart phone here).
Music! Damn! That was a big one.
Almost 1800 miles. Gas about $365 using Mapquest calculator. (i say more)
You just know I'm going to forget something bigger!

ps1-switched the blog to 'newer blogger' so now it doesn't match. ok. so this can be the "now the trip has actually started format."
ps2-if for some ungodly reason you want to save/bookmark/link-to a particular episode: 1st click the date stamp at the end of that particular blog, then copy the link or bookmark it

#13 Dog Days of August Trilogy: episode three

2009-08-20T14:38:00.001-07:00

A real loyal worker, Rocky hikes the roads and vineyards of Krupp Brothers way above Atlas Peak and the Stags Leap District. That is him with Jan Krupp at their little office in the Krupp Vineyard. His famous Stagecoach vines are farther up the road.

On our 2007 trip, Jan told me when Rocky was younger he used to follow his truck from Krupp to Stagecoach - at least 10 miles!

During the formative years of this vineyard (mid-1990s), folks from the Napa Valley thought Jan was crazy. Now over 50 wineries buy his grapes.

(The Stagecoach vineyard is a fascinating story of perseverance, check it out)

This is the last installment of the "Dog Days" trilogy. Although, maybe I'll post some video of the great Gizmo when I get to Lubbock Wednesday!

(just found my blog - start at the beginning)

#12 Candidate for the Cuckoos Nest

2009-08-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

This stroll down memory lane has been fun. It is time now to look forward. Only one week left. Nerves getting a bit jangled.

For those of you who are following this journal to get an idea of what is involved in becoming an intern I will just say this: it would probably be better to do this when you are in your college years, you live in a wine region, you are unemployed or just starting your career, you have a huge savings or financing from your parents or you are receiving some sort of scholarship. None of these applies to me.

Because of this, many people are questioning my sanity. Directly or implied. Madness!

I am a restaurant manager / wine director of an established Dallas Steakhouse. I've been here 9 years. I have almost unlimited freedom (within reason) to do whatever I feel is right for our wine program. I have very little supervision, very little paperwork, very few meetings. I have Sundays off.

This internship is going to cost me a bundle in travel costs, even more in salary.

The economy is shaky. The wine business is feeling it too. Just look at the layoffs at Kendall-Jackson. A Wine Spectator headline says "California Grapes May Go Homeless." The price per ton of Napa Cab grapes is down 40% from a year ago.

I'm thinking I can match the younger interns' physical efforts, but who knows. Did I mention, I am diabetic? I reveal this only because, as any diabetic will tell you, there are routines you follow. Travel makes you adjust these routines. Keeping a grip on meals and stress being the main drawbacks. Damn, those shaky lows!

How will I react to being bossed around? I'm the one who does the bossing (haha).

Lodging. The winery helps match you with locals who board interns. This is not a free ride. I will be paying rent in two time zones.

What else? See, that's the point. I'm not even really sure what questions to ask. But, I'm okay with it.

So what is going on right now? In episode #11, I told you John Williams will start the Sauvignon Blanc harvest this week. Ramey sent notice that the 1st intern, a French girl, has arrived. They are egg-white fining some Syrah from the previous year. I like the idea of working on some of the wines that my friend Russell processed the previous vintage. Four hundred, fifty barrels have arrived, picking bins are being washed and tanks are being sanitized. The harvest is slowly gearing up.

(historical note: Rangers take over the Wild Card lead! Kings for a day)

#11 Where's Waldo

2009-08-16T10:57:00.001-07:00

The worst photo ever. But, I love it.

The quality is so bad that it makes it appear that I have been in the business for a long, long time. In fact, this dates only to Harvest 2004.

The guy in the floppy hat is John Williams of Frog's Leap (see episode #10). In addition to the bad lighting and all the shadows, I am holding Merlot grapes in one hand and unfermented Chardonnay juice in the other. Note the bad tourist shirt. Total train wreck of a picture.

It was the only photo that did not turn out from one of those disposable cameras. I am about to open a UPS box that has a new Kodak 10mp digital camera. Trying to bring you guys quality programming from Wine Country.

#10 Frog's Leap 5x5

2009-08-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

ENERGY!!!

That is what John Williams brings to a room. Lots & lots of energy. Witty banter, self-deprecating humor and laughter. And he brought some serious wines! Napa Valley Cabernet going back some 20+ years!

Earlier this week nineteen fortunate members of the Trade met John at one of Highland Park's favorite lunch spots, Al Biernat's. We were treated to a special vertical tasting of Williams' Frog's Leap Napa Valley Cabs.

The Biernat's staff poured 2 vintages per flight, each wine 5 vintages apart, five wines in all. Pairing the 1986 and 1991; then the 1996 with the 2001; and finally the current release which is the 2006 vintage. Instead of boring you with detailed notes of each wine, I will just say that from the ethereal bouquet of the '86, the incredibly youthful 18 year old 1991 (just a teenager I guess) to the explosive cocoa & berry aromas of the '01 and the promise that the '06 offered; the wines ranged from elegant, silky-smooth to powerful, rich and full. Each had a distinct personality. None disappointed.

Indeed, to the contrary, they amazed. These were not the trophy bottlings of a new cult winery. These were 5 random vintages of John's regular Napa Valley bottling. Select mailing list appointment not required.

It was educational tasting wines side-by-side, produced by the same hand from basically the same land over the course of 23 vintages. John has been there 29 years. He has remained true to his belief of the balanced wine: moderate use of oak, not too high in alcohol (none of the wines at this luncheon were over 14% alc). Frog's Leap has been Certified Organic for 20 years! This is not a band-wagon sort of guy. He's the real deal. A former dairy farmer, Cornell educated, UC-Davis trained; he came to Napa on a bus with $40 in his wallet and now he's $20 million in debt (actually. that is his joke).

As a bonus, bottles of the 2006 Zinfandel, Merlot, Petite Sirah and the 2005 Rutherford were scattered about the table as the dinner ended and the conversation grew more animated. A bit of mingling and then off to work. (damn work always gets in the way)

John is going back to California to start the Sauvignon Blanc harvest on Monday. If I understood him correctly, he feels most Napa Valley vintages come down to what is going on with the weather right at harvest. Most years being more or less the same during the growing season. Obviously, over almost 30 years there are some exceptions. So, this year it will be what happens during the next several weeks, but its looking good so far.

Frog's Leap was the very 1st winery I visited. It was May of 2004 with the entire family. Anne was an exceptional host despite our being almost 2 hours late. She, an English woman - the model ambassador for all of Napa Valley and I, the rude American. A very embarrassing start.

# 9 Dog Days of August Trilogy. episode two

2009-08-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

The late great Moose passed away earlier this year. A "blab" or "blog" = black lab+english bulldog.

One of the main reasons I love B.R. Cohn's Olive Hill Estate off Hwy 12 in Sonoma Valley. The most easy-going dog. This 2006 photo is when I first met him. The last time was in May of 2008 with the family. He would roam around the crowded tasting room and lumber through the patio tables.

The ultimate host.