Today we brought in the last of the Pinot Noir fruit for A.P. Vin for 2008. It was definitely bitter sweet as the fruit today was the most difficult yet.
The Clos Pepe Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County had suffered from the 2008 California weather issues; frost in the winter, heavy rains in the spring...you name it, it got it. So Andrew knew in advance that this was not going to be an easy crushing day.
We do not have a sorting line as some wineries do so we had to make our own as Andrew has done in the past.
A table, 2 bins - 1 for good fruit, 1 for bad
This was our "sorting line." The picking bin of fruit was aligned with the end of the table and the grapes were spread out for sorting. The fruit was then put back into 1 of 2 picking bins again, 1 designated for good and 1 for bad fruit. It wasn't the quickest process as it took Andrew, Tim and I about 3 hours to go through 1 ton of fruit but it was the only way to remove anything that was considered undesirable for Pinot, containing either botrytis (mold) or berries that are under ripe which left them tart and acidic.
Once the fruit was sorted it was then time to run it through the crusher and put into a fermentation bin. Now, it has been said that you know when harvest is about to end in a winery...when everyone has their roles and things run seamlessly! For Andrew, Tim and I...today was that day. Andrew and Tim loaded the picking bin on the forklift and Andrew and I positioned it perfectly above the hopper of the crusher. At that point I took my position on the crusher and transfered the fruit from the picking bin to the hopper. Once the picking bin was emptied, Andrew manned the crusher controls and the additives while Tim manned the stems and cleaned the emptied picking bin. Meanwhile, it was then my job to move the grapes through the hopper.
Emptying the picking bin into the hopper.
Andrew and I in full groove.
Emptying the berries from the hopper.
Today was another long day, about 12 hours, as we not only had to handle the last bit of Pinot fruit but we also have 24 bins either in cold soak or in fermentation. So even after the last of the Pinot was sorted and put into the fermentation bin and then lined up with the others, we still had punch-downs to do and numbers to run.
Considering Andrew and I were toying with Mother Nature when we were trying to picks dates for me to be here, I don't think we could have timed it any better as I was able to see 99% of the Pinot fruit come in during harvest. Now if I could just stick around to see it all go to barrel!
What does any of this have to do with my Pinot noir internship? Well, Andrew is working on a Cabernet project so Friday he and I ventured up to Napa to check on the progress in the vineyard.
Cabernet clusters
The fruit in the vineyard was amazing! There really is something to be said for walking through a vineyard, whether it be Pinot, Chardonnay, or Cabernet and being able to eat the fruit right off the vine. (And actually having a legitimate reason for doing so!) Despite it's characteristics, we later determined the fruit isn't quite ready for picking. We'll have it hang a bit longer to completely ripen.
After a busy day of crushing on Saturday (yes, another long 13+ hour day) I was able to take the day off today so I headed up to Santa Rosa to visit with Russell Bevan. I was fortunate to meet Russell in June at a dinner in San Francisco and I promised to catch up to him when I was out here for my internship. Russell makes wine for his own label, Bevan Cellars, as well as doing consulting work for clients.
I headed to Santa Rosa around noon and while on my way, Russell called me and told me not to eat lunch because they were planning in grilling burgers at the winery and I was invited to have lunch with the crew. "How sweet" I thought to myself. Little did I know Russell had other plans in store for me to earn my keep.
After lunch Russell told me he needed to press a tank of Syrah and he asked me how much experience I had cleaning tanks. Since we only work with MacroBins at A.P. Vin my answer was simple..."not much." That was soon about to change.
Me and Russell...getting dirty!
The Syrah tank
So, we first drained the free-run juice from the tank directly into the barrels and then it was time to shovel the remaining must from the tank into bins to transfer to the basket press. Once the tank door is opened the must doesn't just pour out into the bin, you must go in after it. So, after removing my shoes and socks and rolling up my jeans, my feet and legs were sanitized and then in I went.
Shoveling out the must...
right through the door and into the bin.
After I finished in the tank we had to wait for the press to be prepped so Russell told me we could taste some of his wines. "Yeah!" I thought. This is what I had really planned for. Then he asked me if I had experience climbing barrels. "Huh? Now what do you have in store for me?" I later learned. After a brief demonstration, I was pretty much told that if I wanted a drink...I had to get it myself! :)
So, with a siphon tube in my teeth I headed up, barrel after barrel to gather some Merlot in my glass. Let me just say, it was one of the best Merlots I have tasted in quite some time and I can't wait to get a bottle (or 2) of my own.
climbing barrelsMy adventures today weren't at all what I expected to be doing but it was definitely a great experience. Russell has a wealth of knowledge and it was so great to be able to spend a few hours with him to get a different prospective on things. He is a wonderful person with a great sense of humor and is so great at his craft. Thank you Russell for the fabulous day and I can't wait to do it all over again!
First of all, for anyone that thinks I am too "girlie" to work in a winery...think again. This is what I look like after we sorted and crushed about 7 tons of fruit yesterday. The tape was from the picking bins that were used to designate the type of clone within each one. As we worked our way through the bins, each was cleaned and the tape label removed. (The quickest place to put it was on me!) You'll also notice all the splatter marks on me and my shirt..grape juice! This also explains why most people bring a change of clothes with them to work whenever crushing or pressing is occurring.
On Monday, our day started around 8am with the usual...punch-downs, running numbers...etc. However, it wasn't a usual day. We had fruit coming and for A.P. Vin, it was a lot.
Prior to the fruit delivery, this is what the winery looked like...we had 5 bins in fermentation and 7 bins in cold-soak. (Recently pressed and not yet in the fermentation stage.)
We were set to receive 2 separate shipments of fruit; the first arrived around 1pm. The second delivery was a bit more of a challenge and I got to experience another joy of harvest for a winemaker...shipping. The truck driver couldn't find our winery. Despite Andrew's patience in trying to providing the non-fluent English speaking truck driver directions it was no use. Next thing I hear is Andrew yelling for me from across the winery and asking me to jump in the car and go get the truck. Now, I have become some what familiar with our area of San Francisco but I am not an expert. I did know, however, the main street that the truck was supposed to be on so I set off, cell phone in hand (and work boot still on too) to find the shipping truck. I drove to the location where I thought he should be and didn't see him. After a few relay-calls between Andrew, me, and the truck driver I finally spotted an 18-wheeler pulled over with his hazard lights on. I pulled up beside the truck and honked my horn to get his attention. I said, "Are you looking for A. P. Vin?" He simply shrugged his shoulders as if to suggest he had no idea what I was saying. I said, "do you have grapes?" He understood that and responded, "Si". So I said, '"Ok, follow me." (Frankly at that point I didn't care if they were for us or not!)
We made it back to the winery around 2:30pm and after a bit of a delay we started crushing the bins around 4:30pm...we were in for a late night.
In total, we received around 7 tons of fruit, 15 full bins. We worked our way through all of them and around 1:30am we finished up the night by cleaning up the winery and heading home.
After all that work...we ended up with 5 bins in fermentations, ready for pressing on and 17 bins in cold-soak. With more fruit on the way at the end of this week and the last bit next week, this is the harvest I've heard so much about.
Today, Wednesday, was just as busy. We started at 7:30am with pressing the fruit from the Keefer Ranch Vineyard. We had 5 bins to go through so we wasted no time getting started. We collected the free-run juice first and put it right into barrels. From there we ran the remaining must through the press to extract all the juice and added that to a tank to settle over night. Tomorrow we will "barrel-down", transferring the juice to barrel as well. When all was said and done, we had 6 barrels of wine today and more to be filled tomorrow.
And finally, the day ended again with cleaning. (Did I mention we clean a lot?) Since I may not be around for the next pressing I was designated as the press-cleaner for today. It is a lot of work as there are many little nooks and crannies for grape juice, skins, and/or seeds to hide. And, as I mentioned before, if you aren't soaked by the time you finish cleaning the press, the press just isn't clean. Well, let me just say, I was drenched!!
First things first..cleaning out the pummace from the inside.
Hello from the inside!
I am going down in history as the best darn press-cleaning intern ever!! Andrew bet me that I would miss at least 5 spots when he came back to inspect my work. I told him I would take that bet but do him one better..."I will miss less than 2!" He completely doubted me. I worked on that damn thing for over an hour and a half and was completely soaked by the time I asked Andrew to review my work. He found one spot I missed and it was "just a little spot." Yep...I'd say I won that bet and challenge anyone to do it their first time any better!!
So I haven't posted anything new in the last week because we didn't have a lot going on.
We did punch-downs... 
and ran numbers to check brix levels and pH... 
on the few bins we had but that was about it.Then, this Tuesday, harvest really hit at A.P. Vin! Andrew and Tim started their day at 3am with a drive up to Sonoma Coast to pick up fruit from Kanzler Vineyards while I was tasked with getting the winery ready for crushing the fruit. I arrived at 7am and had to clean bins, take in a dry ice order, and get things in order.
Andrew and Tim arrived back at the winery around 10:30am with approx 4 tons of fruit. We ran through them relatively quickly...finishing up around 6pm. Then...we waited.
We had been told around 10am that morning that a shipment of fruit was coming up from another one of our vineyards, Ontiveros Vineyard from Central Coast (Santa Marina Valley), and it should arrive around 8pm. So, we cleaned up a bit to prepare for the fruit then ordered some dinner while we waited...and waited...and waited. Since we had all been up from the wee-hours of the morning we were all dragging. We finally got a call around 10:30pm that the fruit was near. At about 10:45pm the fruit was here! We were so excited to get it in we plowed right through it (fortunately for us it was only 3 bins...just over a ton.) So now were cookin'!
Here's a picture of the bins of must we have so far.
We were supposed to have more fruit coming in this weekend but the forecast is for rain so we may be delayed until early next week. Which, will ultimately lead to more long days. Thursday however, we pressed! We had two bins from Keefer Vineyards that had be picked prior to all other so it's progress was about a week ahead of all of the other bins. We prepped (read "cleaned") all the equipment, the press machine, pump, bins, barrels then started the process.
The free-run juice was put right into the barrrels then we dumped the rest of the must into the hopper of the press. My job was to help align the bin and then to scrape out every little bit from the bin into the hopper. 
First-press juiceI couldn't believe how dry the final product was. This is the "pumace". The dried skins, seeds, and stems that remain after the juice is completely pressed out. The pumace is often used as fertilizer in vineyards...completing the circle of life if you will.
(notice the hat...gettin' dirty!)
:)The whole process took about an hour and a half, then it was time to clean and, the best way to clean the inside of the press, is from the inside.
Andrew...going in!
He says I'll get my turn soon...I'll let you know how that goes!
If you don't get drenched when cleaning the press...you haven't cleaned it!So today, Friday, we baby the bins we have "cookin'" and prep for more fruit.
I know, I know...I came out here to make Pinot but yesterday, I helped make Chardonnay!
I had been in touch with Kathleen Inman of Inman Family Wines prior to coming out to California. She gave me a call over this past weekend to see if I might be able to head up to Sonoma Valley to help her with a Chardonnay project she was working on. "Sure, why not?" I though. (Thanks goes to Andrew for letting me get away from A.P. Vin for the day!!)
Kathleen and her husband Simon welcomed me into there home to stay with them on Monday night because we had a early start on Tuesday.
The day began at 6am as we drove to the vineyard to assist in the picking of the Chardonnay grapes. The lot was small so it didn't take long to pick before we headed back to the winery for pressing.
Chardonnay vineyard
Me, at work collecting grapes
Once at the winery, the grapes were weighed then loaded into the press.
Chardonnay grapes
Grapes being dropped into hopper of the press
From the hopper the grapes were dropped into the cylinder then pressed so the juice was extracted into the tray below.
Pressed juice
From the tray the juice was pumped through hoses into a tank to ferment and become the Chardonnay that we all know and love.
The pump and hoses
YUM!!! Fresh pressed Chardonnay juice
We finished up the day around 2:30 so I headed to Healdsburg to tool around and do some wine tasting. I visited J, Armida, and Everett Ridge. All were great in their own way. And, I got the best perk ever...an industry discount on my wine purchase!!! As if getting up and going to work in a winery everyday isn't enough to remind me I am really doing this, a get an discount on purchases at other wineries to boot!
We are hoping to get more fruit in at A. P. Vin early next week so until then, its going to be a bit of the same...punch downs, must analysis, and cleaning, and I'm loving every bit of it!
Well, after a slightly early departure from Houston due to Hurricane Ike and the lack of electricity, David and I arrived in San Francisco Tuesday night. Our early arrival was, however, perfect timing as I discovered that I was needed for work on Thursday morning. Grapes were ready and work needed to begin.
The day began at 7am, as Andrew, (the winemaker), Tim (another assistant) and I, left San Francisco and headed out to Keefer Vineyards in the Russian River Valley, approximately 1.5 hours northwest of SF. The crew at the vineyard started picking our fruit at 3am and when we arrived around 9am, we found our 8 bins, approximately 4 tons, of grapes waiting for us. We loaded them up in the truck and headed back to the winery. 
Approx 1/2 ton of Pinot grapes
After prepping all of our equipment we loaded the first bin of Pinot Noir grapes in the lift and begin the process of sorting the fruit as it fell into the destemmer. I won't go into too many details of the full process but the goal of this step was to remove any undesirable grapes from the batch. We then ran the grapes through the destemmer which removed the stems and dropped the berries into a separate bin below.
The crew for the day: Tim, Shane, me and Andrew sorting the grapes into the destemmer.
It took about 7 hours to process all 8 bins and then the clean up process began. Everything in the winery needed to be cleaned and put away in preparation for our next round. (We source from 8 vineyards...this was only the first!)
Hosing down a screen
It was a LONG day. I got home around 10:30pm, took a shower to get all the sticky grape juice off of me and headed to bed exhausted but feeling extremely fulfilled to have my first "crush" behind me.
Tomorrow we head out to check on grapes at another vineyard located near Mendicino to determine when they will be ready for picking and processing.
More to come...
Welcome to my blog site.
If you’re viewing this then you know me and you know I like wine. Yes, it's true. Every aspect of it! And, as you know, David and I have taken many trips over the years but some of our most memorable and absolute favorites have been to the Northern California wine country. (Phrase most often heard, "You're going back to Napa again???") We've visited at different times of year; spring, summer, and even winter but have yet to visit during the dreaded fall. Fall in the wine world of Northern California is a crazy time of year. That is when everything happens. Previous vintages are put in bottles, grapes are harvested in the vineyards and brought into wineries and the work of turning grapes into wine begins.
We've avoided this time of year by the suggestion of other "winos" that have warned, "Don't even think of going during harvest if you want to see anyone!" Everyone, except the lowly tasting room sales person, is busy with harvest. So, we've avoided it.
With each visit, we've met with different people at all involvement levels. Sales/marketing staff, tasting room personnel, winemakers, winery owners, etc. I've enjoy listening to each of them tell me their stories on how they got started, why they do what they do, and the excitement of harvest. On our trip in January I mentioned to David that I thought it would be so cool to visit during harvest and see it all happen, even joking about how I'd love to find a place that might actually let me work. So, after more discussions on whether I wanted to "see" it happen or actually "do" it, I made a few phone calls to some of the people we have met and lined up a "job" at a winery in California to be their cellar rat! I will be working at AP Vin which is actually located in San Francisco and is focused on producing Pinot Noir. The grapes come from Central Coast as well as Sonoma Coast so I’ll be doing a lot of traveling to check out the vineyards and hauling in the grapes, literally, as I've been told.
This site will be a way for me to keep you posted on my adventures as a cellar rat. I'll do my best to keep you all updated and I'll even try to post a pic or 2!
Cheers for now,
Kim a.k.a. "Wine Chick"
