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!
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