This is Not a Test

farella.com
I could feel this moment coming and there it was as I drove up to the winery this morning: veraison has begun!

What does it all mean?  This is where everyone, I mean EVERYONE in the wine business gets the fire in their belly.

Bottling?  Better get it done which means blending and any other processing has to be ready to go. 

Vineyard?  Time for those last passes "de-gobbing," dialing-in the crop level, adjusting the canopy one last time and scheduling the last mildew treatments.

Harvest preparation?  Field equipment must be ready, any repairs that are needed have to be done, spare parts that have to be ready (because you KNOW it will be tough to get them when it's crunch time).

Winery?  The tanks need to be ready for the onslaught, the picking bins and crush equipment need cleaning.  The supplies need to be lined up (don't forget the yeast, if that's your technique- SO MANY CHOICES, now).

Crush workers?  Better get those vacations in and make sure that everyone is pumped up for the long days, 7 a week.

And last, but never least:  Spouses.  We hope that the subject never comes up that they, in fact, married in to this whole deal 'cause there are no shortcuts.

Of course, after the adrenaline rush is over, there's the hurry-up-and-wait thing that lulls us into a false sense of mellowness.  Now that I've posted this, I will commence a full frontal attack on these very issues...  GOTTA GO!

Comments

[David Grega]

Sounds exciting Tom! I know you're really busy this time of year so I won't hassle you to much but when harvest is over I'm going to try to make it out there to see u and Justin (he's from WLTV). Keep up the blog thing man I really enjoy reading your postings. If you haven't stopped by wine16.com lately then please do so when you get a chance and let me know what you think (I finally got an official logo!) Until next time, happy drinking!

p.s I had your Merlot again at Stave, it was great as always! Thanks!