Got a late start today. Went for a walk with my dog. Read the Seattle Times and had breakfast.
Did some prep work for a class I teach about wine at South Seattle Community College. The winery that is associated with the college is about to release its first wines so we are having an open house/party to celebrate.
Then I ran a bunch of small errands before going to the winery. The winery is about ten minutes from my home. I knew that it was going to be cold in the winery today so I wasn’t in a big hurry to get there…..although I had a bunch of stuff to do. I am trying to get some wine bottled this Friday. I have free up one of my tanks to blend the wine into, plus I wanted to get the wine into barrels anyway.
I ended up moving my new Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Merlot is from a new vineyard, Dwelley Vineyards, in the Walla Walla Valley. The Cabernet Franc is from Portteus Vineyard.
It went really well. I got it all transfered into barrels. It was tough getting my forklift to start and to keep going. It’s a terrific forklift as it is a three wheeler and great for manuevering. But I have to stop and think what happens if it breaks down. I even hate to think of that. I’m not sure how I would finance another forklift. Then I start thinking about other items that I can’t do without…..and whether my lease arrangements will remain. Jeez, what would I do without this barn and property.
But it seems to work. But it is all so fragile. Right now I have Art to help me but I can’t count on him wanting to work only a few hours a week, and I can’t afford to have him work very much.
I was really lucky with the weather. It was pretty clear and cold, about 36 degrees F, until I was cleaning up, then it started lightly snowing.
I hate working in the cold. I never seem to warm up. I have an area where I label wines, store wines, a sink area and my desk; all is kept warm with baseboard heating so I can excape the cold occasionally.
Oh, I tasted the wine. It is really young. I added pretty hefty doses of meta-bisuphite to each and they both got bleached just a tad but you can taste and feel the great fruitiness in the middle of the palate. Having made wine now for about fourteen years I know that the color will come back and that the wine will develop wonderful rich flavors.
