Final days

My last few days at C. Donatiello were quite busy so I didn't have much time to update my site. We processed more Pinot noir and Chardonnay and we "drained and pressed" 4 tanks of Pinot and moved it to barrels. Of course, those tanks had to be cleaned!


Cleaning a tank

Over the past few years when I've talked about working at a winery during harvest time and making wine the most common question that's come up has been "So, you mean your gonna stomp grapes with your feet?" followed by a little chuckle. Countless times, I have explained that it just really isn't done that way anymore but yes, it can be done. Well, this picture is for those people!


Old-school stompin'

I spent my last night in California in San Francisco and before heading to the airport I visited the Ferry Building Farmers' Market. Now, you know how much I love fresh produce and this is an AMAZING market. The products for sale vary from the common fruits and vegetables you find in the produce section of your local market (except these are MUCH sweeter and fresher) and also include little known items like Early Girl tomatoes and lemon cucumbers. If only I weren't on my way to the airport, I would have gone broke buying stuff at this market!


The front of the Ferry Building and some of the vendors


A variety of bell peppers. (Yes...those are purple bell peppers!)

All in all it was a short but memorable trip. I had a great time in the wine country again and had some new experiences in wine production.
Thanks for following along and I'll be back next year!

filling barrels (lots of barrels!)

Just a quick update for anyone following along...I haven't fallen in a tank (but I have cleaned quite a few). I have been working the late shift this week. I head in around 8:30am and typically don't leave until 8:30PM so by the time I get home, eat dinner, and take a nice long shower, I am, quite frankly, too exhausted to post any updates on here. I will do my best to add a new post about my last few days before heading home so stay tuned!

Field trip, prepping and lots of work!

Work has picked up for us lately and the days have been getting longer so I haven't had time to post to the site in a couple days so here are some updates.

Friday I headed out on a trip to O'Neel Vineyard in Santa Rosa to pull some samples. The fruit looked good but will probably be another week before it's ready for picking.





In preparation for Saturday we had to clean barrels for the Chardonnay we were going to process.


Lining up the barrels on the barrel washer

When we arrived at work on Saturday we had just over 9 tons of Chardonnay to process (which was 20 bins of fruit.) The grapes were dropped into the hopper of the sorting table and we picked out any leaves and undesirable fruit.


Sorting the fruit

Once the fruit is sorted it is taken to the press where it goes through a 2-hour process of being squeezed dry. All the juice is then pumped to a holding tank and then transferred to the barrels we prepped on Friday where it will ferment and turn into the Chardonnay we all know and love.


Grapes getting dumped into the press.


Grapes in the press ready for squeezing.

So as we were processing our TWENTY bins of chardonnay we looked up to see another delivery...an additional 18 bins, right around 8 tons, of Chardonnay that needs to be processed as well. The good thing was, we already had to sorting table and press running so we just needed to keep the process flowing with this additional delivery.



Needless to say it was a long day. I arrived at 6:30am and headed home close to 7:30pm. (I was fortunate to leave earlier than some of the others that arrived later that morning...I was beat!)
Here's a shot of the 3 interns, Arnold, Emily and me, exhausted at the end of our long day.



I am heading back to work at 10am this morning and have a day off tomorrow. (What to do??)
I am not sure what is in store for me today but with a "midnight punch" in store, it is bound to be another long day!

My first "C. Don" fruit

First of all...I was recently told that I am "definitely a local" when I referred to C. Donatiello as "C. Don".

So a quick update on my recent days at "C. Don".
I have been in at 6:30am to open the winery with Andres and Luis to do the first-of-the-day punchdowns, of which there are 4 daily. Andres and I typically tend to that task while Luis focuses on preparing for the days activities. Now let me just say...I LOVE the hydraulic punchdown tool!! Last year everything was performed manually when we had to do punchdowns, which was fine, but this is so fun! (Insert Tim the Tool Man's chuckle here.)


Hydraulic punch


Me...in action!

Each day we are given an actual Work Order sheet with the tasks for the day (and yes, we have to sign-off on each task when it's completed.) There have been so many things going on that I have completely not realized it until someone mentioned it's done.

I worked in the lab on Tuesday and Wednesday. (Hmmm...who'd have though my Chemistry lab would actually pay off?)


Doing analysis on vineyard samples.

The lab is not my favorite part of the job but at least I am getting some exposure to it.

As for today, we processed roughly 4 tons of Pinot noir.


Pinot noir grapes being delivered.

The fruit is picked then transferred to the winery in 1/2 ton bins. When we are ready to process the fruit, it is dumped onto a sorting table and we pick out any "undesirables" such as "raisined" berries, botrytis or waterberry.


Pinot noir at the sorting table.



Sorting the Pinot


Robert, me and Jessica sorting the fruit

This Pinot will be processed with about 25% "whole cluster" meaning the entire cluster, stems and all, are kept in the tank. This tends to add a complexity to the wine and is a technique used by many winemakers.

After sorting through approximately 25% of the fruit we then processed the remainder through the crusher-destemmer, thus removing the stems.


The clusters are dropped from the sorting table down into the "crusher/destemmer" and then the grapes (or berries) are sorted again.


Robert sorting the berries.

Once all the fruit is processed it is dumped into a tank in the winery for us to tend to for about 7-10 days. (Yep...more for me to punchdown!!)

We are expected to have a busy weekend with more and more fruit coming in. I am, however, managing to have some fun after work and have been visiting some of our favorite tasting rooms and restaurants in Healdsburg. The weather has been quite hot (good for the grapes) and is expected to reach 100 in the next few day. But, there is no humidity so in my book, this still remains one of my favorite places.

My first day

Today was my first day of work at C. Donatiello Winery in Healdsburg, CA. I arrived at 8am and the production crew of 6, now 7 with me, was seated at a table discussing today's activities. There are 2 shifts. One team arrives at 6:30am and begins doing the first set of 4 punchdowns that occurs each day. The second team arrives at 8am and begins working on the daily tasks, which is then shared with the first team, and varies from picking samples from the vineyard, doing juice analysis, and doing any "adds" that may be needed, among may other things.

So, first things first, as promised, here are some pictures of the grounds at C. Donatiello Winery. It is stunning and I am afraid these pictures don't really do it justice.




A quaint picnic area in front of the winery.


A side walkway up to the tasting room building seen in the upper left

Shortly after arriving I was paired up with Emily, another harvest intern, to run some samples to the lab and then head out to one of the vineyards to pick some grapes for sampling. We headed to Orsi Vineyard and got to work.


Picking a chardonnay sampling from Orsi Vineyard

Once we finished picking the sample we headed back to the winery to the lab to run the numbers to see if the grapes were ready for picking. The information was then recorded and provided to Web, the winemaker for C. Donatiello. We did various other tasks but unfortunately no fruit came in today. Northern California was hit with a late-season rain storm that will delay picking for a few more days. So, until then, we will work on what is already in tanks.

As for me, I am on the early shift tomorrow and will be at work at 6:30am. (Hmmm...sounds a lot like my schedule at home but I definitely like the scenery and my dress code A LOT better!!)

The kid's back in town

That's right! I'm back and lovin' it!
I got into town a few day before I had to start work for harvest this year so I spent time "playing".


The Ferry Building
I stayed with a friend in San Francisco so I went sightseeing again. I walked around Market Steet, past a few craft vendors near the Ferry Building then drove over to Walnut Creek. It was absolutely a beautiful day so I decided to find a park and have a picnic lunch.

(for all my foodie friends...turkey on honey-whole grain bread with avocado and havarti cheese. YUM!)

I was able to hang out with Andrew at AP Vin too. It was so great to catch up with him before all the chaos of harvest takes hold. One of my favorite wines Andrew makes is from Kanzler Vineyards from Sonoma Coast. The characteristics that come from that fruit are spectacular and are exactly what I love in a Pinot noir; intense red and dark fruits like cherries, plums and boysenberries and it offers a long elegant finish. So as we sat around chatting Andrew received a phone call. When he hung up the phone he said, "Stick around, Steve's coming over". Not quite sure which Steve he was referring to, I asked, "who?". "Steve Kanlzer" Andrew said matter-of-factly.

Steve arrived and Andrew gave him the grand tour of the winery, checking out the new equipment and discussing the logistics of things. Then we tasted the 2008 AP Vin Kanzler Pinot noir. To sit and drink the wine that I helped make with THE winemaker and THE vintner was THE best part of my day! It was such a great opportunity to sit and listen to each of their comments about the wine and to hear what they thought about it. These are the people that saw this fruit from beginning to end. Who would know it better? Both Andrew and Steve are such kind and sharing individuals. We chatted for quite some time and they shared so much information with me. When I left there I was on cloud nine. Absolutely a great experience!! (THIS is why I love being around during harvest!!)

Saturday I left the city and headed up to the wine country. I spent the day visiting people in Napa and doing a few tastings at some of our favorite wineries. I headed to Fantesca Estates on Spring Mountain and chatted with one of their winemakers whom I had met earlier this year. I also visited Tres Sabores and visited with Julie Johnson, whom I met last year and was fortunately enough to meet for lunch while she traveled to Houston this summer.



A view over the vineyard at Fantesca Estates



Julie Johnson and her dog Zoe, checking out the Zinfandel grapes.

Now, I am settled in at my home-away-from-home in Healdsburg and today I am off to do a little more "playing" before reporting to work tomorrow.

What's Next?

Welcome back to the wonderful adventures in winery internships!

Well, despite my amazing experience in 2008 with Andrew at A.P. Vin and all the information I learned, I wanted to get a different perspective on wine production so I searched for another winery that would bring me on as a harvest intern.

Thanks to a recommendation from a friend, I was fortunate to find an internship at C. Donatiello in Healdsburg, CA. (And, if you remember from last year, this town is my heaven on Earth!)

I spoke with Web Marquez, their winemaker, and scheduled a meeting when we visited the wine country in June of this year. The location was formerly occupied by Belvedere Winery which David and I had visited quite a few times in the past. It is beautiful! The landscaping is spectacular and the views are amazing! (I promise to post some pictures of this when I get there so you can see for yourself.) This winery specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, two of my favorite varietal.

We met with Web early one morning and he gave us a grand tour of the facility. He walked us through the entire process; where the grapes are dropped into a sorter/destemmer, explained the details of "gravity flow", showed us their stainless steel tanks with automated punch-down tools, and then on to the barrel room where the wines are aged until bottling. The tour ended with a tasting of 10 wines (yes...a bit daunting for some of you in my crew!)


Tasting at C. Donatiello

The wines were exceptional and definitely made me happy to have this opportunity. Thanks to Web for meeting with us and setting up this impressive tasting. I am very fortunate to be heading back to California for harvest 2009. I'll do my best to keep you all posted on my adventures.
Thanks for following along.
Cheers!

A look back on 2008

And so it begins...all over again for the 2009 harvest. But first, a look back.

I have such fond memories of my first harvest from 2008. If you know me (and if you are reading this then I am sure you do) then you know how much I enjoyed my month in California in 2008. I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to wine production than what I received with Andrew at A.P. Vin. He is such a great person, very knowledgeable, extremely kind and I couldn't have asked for a better mentor my first time out. I also benefited from working with a handful of other very talented winemakers that were willing to share their stories with me and allowed me to work with them for a day or two. Overall, harvest 2008 was an absolutely amazing!

We took a trip back to Northern California in June of this year with some friends for vacation and had a great time visiting wineries in Napa and Alexander Valleys and catching up with friends we met last year. But, I have to admit, my absolute favorite moment of the trip was heading to A.P. Vin and tasting the 2008s that I helped produce last year.

We planned to arrive at A.P. Vin around 2pm the day we landed in California (because I couldn't wait to get there!) Andrew had pulled a few samples from barrel and had them waiting for us when we arrived. It was so great to be back...felt like coming home. Tim (my co-intern from '08) was there as well and we all tasted through the samples. From "my girl" Rosella's to the Keefer and Kanzler, all Pinots were tasting great. The wines spent another few months in barrel and were actually bottled earlier this month.



Andrew Vingiello and me at A.P. Vin

Andrew did some wonderful things with his 2007 vintage in case you haven't heard already. He scored 90+ on each wine! I was so happy to hear this and here's hoping for equally good scores on the 2008. (Let's home the Van-YO love pays off.)

Thanks again, Andrew, for making my first internship something I will never forget.
Now...on to 2009!