No Permit For Blog This Harvest

As courtesy to the owner of the winery that I will be working for this harvest, I will only be keeping my own private notes . However I would like to share this gorgeous view that I get to take in every day.... It's like a little piece of *Burgundy nestled in our own California backyard.

Oakville, California

*By Burgundian similarities I mean the hilltop vineyards and similar view I took in last year in Cote de Nuits... (see photo below)

2010 Harvest photo in Burgundy

I'd love to share my harvest experiences with you all at a later time, so please do not hesitate to ask me.

I will occasionally update my blog on tastings that I do in and out of the Napa area, and will definitely have some good photos of food, wine, and the like!

Also, stay tuned for my Aussie adventures:
Come January 2012 I will be happy to provide insight into my Australian experiences !!

2012 will most likely be my final trot around the globe, and I can't wait to find out where it takes me and what shenanigans I will get up to.

G'day mate!

South Africa Memoirs

Wow, so I guess this blog kinda turned into a flop while I was in South Africa. Sorry about that, I guess I just became more preoccupied than I expected to be! I blame it on the boy. *cough*


In a quick summary, here's what I have to say about my time spent in South Africa ... it was... incredible.
The winery-experience was outstanding. I couldn't get over how the tasting rooms were so resort-like. This is a picture sitting on the balcony at Vrede en Lust during a tasting in January.
The vineyard scenery's were breathtaking.

But don't get me wrong, it was tiring as well. I worked long hours at the winery and got down and dirty in the cellar. In two weeks my appetite doubled and my pant size dropped 2 sizes.
We brought in 650tons in 2.5 weeks and spent the following weeks tending to the rack and returns

Being goofy while shoveling out grape seeds, pips, from the Pellenc Destemmer shoot after a long day during harvest
Merlot, or Cab must/wine draining into a cauldron during a rack and return (2 stories above this, at the top of the tank, another person is holding a hose and wetting down the cap of the juice/skins) Easy peasy.

EYE-OPENING: learned some important life lessons, such as how to drive a stick shift, and how to keep your wits about you. AT ALL TIMES. I had the battery stolen from our work delivery truck while I was parked overnight off site... that was an awkward early morning phone call to the boss lady.... And, not to mention the poisonous snake that came lurching in our house on my first night on the farm.

Fun: Spent a lot of fun times soaking up the rays, kicking back, and enjoying the local wines and scenery. Stellenbosch was, hands down, my favorite town to hang out in. It's an adorable Dutch town with a killer University and Uni night life! I'll pass on the can and cream soda though..
Watched my first cricket match! Which was very exciting... for the first 8 hours, and then we left, at the half-time. Crazzzy long game.
Lounging at the cottage house pool was a luxury I took advantage of quite often when guests were not visiting!
Louise, Liam and I stranded on a rock during our end of harvest boat trip with the VnL team. For some reason the captain thought it'd be funny to leave us behind.
A photo of Table Mountain in Cape Town during the exhilarating boating trip

Delicious: mmm nothing beats a burger with black pepper gravy on top! I was a fan of the food, all around, from boerewoers to malva pudding.

A local's favorite! Burger with black pepper sauce.

An epic braai, bbq,that Craig and I made on our day off. Sooo good.

Hilarious: WOW, I've never met such funny people in my life.


I was treated so graciously by my host winery and I hope to visit again soon. South Africa is a beautiful country that should be on everyone's bucket list as a must-visit.
The view from Lion's Head Mountain - 12 Apostles Mountain, Cape Town

Thermometer-In-Tank Issue

So you're probably wondering why I dropped the thermometer in the tank. Well, not because I wanted to see what would happen, though I have often wondered, but because I was working fast and apparently not as efficiently as I had planned.

Since I was doing the yeast innoculation on this 16,000 Liter tank of Shiraz, I was using the thermo probe to check that the temperature was right for the yeast as I brought down the temp closer to that of the tank. Then, while executing this task, Susan mentioned to me that three of the other tanks needed wood powder additions. Great, I'll do those additions as the yeast here sits and becomes active before I add it to the Shiraz. I'll put the thermometer... here in the yeast mixture, so I can check the temp once more before throwing in the yeast. POOF. Thought gone as I race off to weight out the wood powder.

Check - powder added to the tanks. Check - yeast ready to go. And toss in the yeast.... Ah, shit. Where's the thermometer? Yep. In the tank. Oh no... my heart sinks, my head races and I feel sick to my stomache. I quickly grab a bucket, tie string to it, and begin fishing around in the yeasty grape juice. There it is~ I spot it, but lose my grip on the tan as I hoist myself lower to push the bucket down into the juice with my foot. I quickly contemplate my actions and retract my foot: what's worse, risking my life or a thermometer?

After telling Susan about the problem and realizing the consequences of this mistake I feel miserable. Even 24 hours later I couldn't bring a smile to my face, nor look people straight in the eye, as my confidence was shot. My self esteem gone.

Luckily I'm on the up and up after a successful day at work this morning, as I managed the rack and returns (R&Rs) without a single mess up. It may not sound like much, but it's an accomplishment for me...

Like a ring leader I manage two pumps at the same time as wine drains from the tanks into cauldrons on the bottom level and pumps up the guys on the 3rd floor.

The cauldron, pump and ladder in use as the tank drains from above

A good foamy cauldron of fermenting wine as it drains from above

As they sit and wet the cap of the tank, I must constantly keep watch of the flow of the wine, speed of the pumps, and coordinate my actions with the guys up top, or in other words, I have to master the art of multi-tasking. Meanwhile, I watch the time for each Rack and Return, checking the sugar (Balling/Brix) and temperature, and make any needed additions of super food, NH4, or Tartaric Acid.

Baron and Cyril doing the pump overs on the 3rd level of the winery

Then once 30 minutes has passed I switch the lines to the next to tanks and carry on until all of 13 big boys are done. 3 hours later, one cycle of rack and returns is complete and the next cycle starts up again 2 hours later. What a hectic race!

During a harvesting day it proves to be even more difficult with the noise of the Pellenc destemmer, press, and other pumps running, as noise creates the worst distraction possible. Also, not to mention, the many other obstacles I have to work around.

Unfortunately this task has also brought me shame as I have broke 1 other thermometer and 2 hydrometers during my turmoil to work fast and efficiently. Again, no so efficient. :(

So yes, I have learned from my mistakes and as much as I hate to own up to them, I will. I just hope that my curse doesn't carry over to my next harvest!

Over and out,

d'laur the Smasher

Not Feeling So Lucky This Harvest

Saturday March 26, 2011

Finally, some peace and quiet to myself. It's a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon and I have the rest of the day to enjoy at my leasure as my pumpover shift is done for the day. The last two weeks are somewhat of a blur in my head as I never found a chance to pick up a pen and jot down notes to organize my thoughts and differentiate the days. Even as I write this notebook entry I can feel my eyelids weighing down heavy over my eyes. I'm physically exhausted, drained of energy and yet my body hasn't given up yet. At some point during the week I told Louise this job felt like winery bootcamp. I have noticed the fat slowly shedding from my body as the muscles replace the weight. I become less winded as I climb the stairs to the third story of the winery, and my physical stamina surprises me sometimes. But here I am with a moment's rest and a chance to pause and relax.

Work is fun, no doubt about that, but these 14-15 hour days, back to back are getting to me. It doesn't help that the bright sun taunts me from outside the cellar every day as I envision the free time I once had in it. Nor the fact that I wish I could spend these last few weeks here with a special guy I've met. But alas, I know he's working hard just the same at a neighboring winery down the road.

So I'm making the most of my time at work. Our fruit intake is now at 350 tons with both red and white coming in every day - pumpovers and press cycles are running constantly from sun up to sun down. Various varietals have slipped through my fingers during processing, and I try hard to think back on what I remember about grapevine ampelography.

Merlot: one long stem, and two broad shoulders (right! like a man! Merlot the man.. check.) Shiraz: long and skinny cluster...phalic looking, haha, but true!

Malbec: Big round berries.

Cabernet Sauvignon: medium round berries, punch hole sinuses

Petit Verdot: itty bitty clusters.

Pinot gris: looks like Pinot noir, but has grey skins, duh!

Sauvignon blanc: green, green, green. Chardonnay: none lobed leaf.

Viogner: unique floral aroma, susceptible to bunch rot, slight golden tinge on berry. As well I get to learn about new varietals...

Pinotage (the trademark grape of South Africa): cross btwn Pinot noir and Cinsault, thick thick skins.

Chenin blanc: big white round berries with visable veins.

Cinsault: very big berries with little color

So I am learning a lot, but still feeling a bit stupid at the same time. I'm making mistakes that, granted I'll NEVER do again, but still mistakes I thought I never would do. I blame it on my dwindling energy, the countless distractions around me, and the sole pressure I put pn myself to work fast and efficiently. Sometimes I need to rethink that work moto to include carefully.

Actually, I think I'm cursed. Seriously. Within the last two weeks I have managed to break, knock over, or drop into tank almost all of the thermometers and hydrometers. FML. Really!? I'm THAT intern?

It's hilarious at this point, but I don't know how Susan, the winemaker, can continue to trust me and give me responsibility still in the winery! But, back to the dropped-thermometer-in-tank issue. What it boils down to is I'm an idiot, the grape must is fine at this point, but the potential for the thermometer to break is the issue. If it breaks, luckily Mercury will not pour out as this is no longer in thermometers, but the shards of glass could damage the press once we drain the tank after fermentation. I'm doubting that they will, but another thing to consider is the red dye/ terrible aroma that will be added to the wine once the glass breaks! This is irreverisble. So fingers crossed that the pomace won't crush the thermometer once we drain the wine out of the dank in, oh, 7-14 days...

Baby Brown Cobra

First night on Vrede en Lust farm

Tuesday night proved to be more eventful than expected as Liam, Louise and I returned home from a six hour long cricket match (which was only HALF the game as Louise and I, thankfully, persuaded Liam to leave early…) As this was my first night here I was still learning the ins and the outs of our farm house. Situated out along the main road through the vineyards, our place is nothing fancy but chock full of all the amenities that we need to call it home for the remainder of our stay here. With millipedes inching across the floors and the occasional mosquito darting around, I tried my best to relax as best I could while defending my bubble. After de-millipeding the arm chair I eased up a bit and relaxed. My room and bed had been properly searched earlier and I was content to settle in for the night.

Propped up in the living room and in the midst of conversation, Louise draws our attention to an intruder in the room. Just below Liam’s chair, a small brown snake head pops out. Taking care to not disturb it we all retract our legs but remain focused on its whereabouts.

Shit! A snake. Is it poisonous? None of us have a clue. I sit there a moment contemplating our actions as Louise begins shouting at Liam to take control and call for help. Slowly Liam exits the room, but returns quickly to snap a shot.

“Shit, Liam, Go! What if it’s poisonous and bites you!” With that he turns and runs two doors down to ask for help and confirmation of the danger we think we might be in.

During Liam’s call for help, Louise explains the seriousness of this situation to me as I watch on calmly. “It could be two kinds of snakes – both of which are poisonous and deadly if they bite you. If you get bitten by one, the snake venom moves through your blood to your heart and the instant it hits your heart, you die. You have exactly 20 minutes to get a dose of the antivenom to live. The other snake’s venom eats away at your skin cells and kills them one after the other.”

Oh shit, really!?

“Yes, really” Apparently not wanting to scare me, Louise and Liam purposely did not mention the dangers of crossing snakes in our area. But look at this snake, it’s brown – not danger colors like red or orange – so perhaps its just a garden snake?

When Liam returns moments later he is armed with a pitch fork and our neighbor, or savior more like, Jonas, by his side yielding a wooden spear. With caution, Louise lifts the chair towards her and with a quick, brute force Jonas lops the snake in half with the long end of the spear. The snake dies instantly.

“What is it?” We question, “Is it poisonous?”

“Oh, yes” Jonas answers

“Really? Oh god. But do you know what it was?”

“Brown cobra”

Shit!! The reality of the situation sets in. We laugh at our stupidity, and the mortal chances that were just at stake. To think, that if Louise had never spotted the snake lying below Liam’s feet – he could have been bitten by that baby. A baby with no control of its venom and more lethal than a full-grown snake as it would release more venom upon attack. We would have no more than 20 minutes to drive to the nearest hospital, which unfortunately for us is 15 minutes away. So even if we lost no time, our chances of saving Liam would not be good.

But thankfully, the latter was not the case and we are all healthy, alive and ready to start work on Monday. Now I feel I have been properly introduced to the South African farm lands and I will constantly keep my wits about me – even if presented with another cute baby snake. There’s talk of a king cobra roaming the property still, so maybe we’ll be eating a nice brai (or bbq) come harvest ;)

Outings for the L Team

The breeze blows in one window of my room and sweeps out the other. Whirlng around my body as it enters, I breath in the sweet figgy smell of the neighboring tree – one more week of ripening to go, I expect, and those figs will be ravished by yours truly. With great leisure I relax on my bed, netbook in hand, and download my recent pictures from this week – little tokens of memories that will forever be with me as “my first week in South Africa”. Not bad, yah? Yah, yah. I wish I could capture all that I see, feel, and experience, but I cannot. My pictures don’t do this adventure justice, so with words I try my best to explain.

(Unfortunately not all of the pictures that I have collected this week are in my possession, so you will have to be patient. Thanks :)

No work has set upon me yet so with pleasure and greed I take advantage of my endless days and nights by sleeping well, soaking in the sun, enjoying a bloody mary here and there, and exploring the surrounding wine regions, beaches and towns.

Last night was my first “official” night out, in terms of staying out past 11pm and witnessing “Tonight’s Gonna be a Good Night” blaring on the dance floor, while drunken teens celebrate their respective best-nights-ever. Right, so to set the stage a bit more, I should mention that this Friday night I found myself in Stellenbosch, the nearby college town, rather than in my own living room killing brown cobras…. A stark difference for sure, but more of that later. So, surrounded by giddy first years marking the end of their first week of college I sit back and take in this spectacle of a surprising amount of mullets whipping back and forth on the dance floor. Who knew that mullets were all the range (way) down south? My total count for the night was 5, but I aim to beat this number on my next Stellie outing.

Despite my obsession with counting mullets, I had a great time sharing a few drinks with Liam, Louise, their friend Craig, and his friend Jen. With both Craig and Jen as locals to Stellenbosch, I think it is safe to say that the Vrede en Lust “L Team” was in good hands for the night. After a few Castle beers, and a brandy and coke I found myself amoungst those lovely swaying mullets too and was able to show off my handy salsa moves to "pas parle Americano". A good night indeed. Stellenbosch has some amazing bars and I would recommend any college student to study abroad here.

Cape Town

Hello loves,

Here I am in Cape Town. I have no internet in my backpacker (hostel) so I find myself in a coffee shop down the road with FREE WIFI! I was excited to see this sign the other day and have been coming back to this coffee shop often. Three days in total, so these 12Rand ($2) coffees shouldn't hurt my budget too much... but still, a bit pricey for South Africa. So other than finding a great location to kick it and sooth my addiction to the internet, I have found Cape Town to be a truly fantastic city.

Everyone I have met so far is so friendly, generous and helpful. Through various acquaintances I have made, I have been able to get out of my residential part of town and see the hot-spots, eat some great food, and finally get a taste for the local wine. Last night I had a really nice picnic with two friends - a local and used-to-be-local who I met in Calistoga this winter - before seeing a hilarious version of Taming of the Shrew at the outdoor theatre. The picnic included a bottle of crisp white wine (...), local figs, berries, creamy Camebert cheese and fresh cheesy bread. We ate ravishly while catching up and laughing at the unique species of birds that encircled us.

During the play, which was just short of a Cirque de Soleil-esque show, my attention was quickly drawn to the sky as my eyes caught a firefly flying overhead. Upon realizing what this was, I scrambled to pull my hands out from under the blanket to point it out to Linah... but it flew away. So she thinks I'm crazy... especially since I couldn't find the words to describe what I saw and I started laughing uncontrollably. But all in all we had a great time together and Corina, the local, was such a treat to meet. Thanks to her I am beginning to understand, more or less, the ins and outs of South Africa!

In addition to this outing, I was lucky enough to meet up with another local on Sunday, Jo, who I met in Burgundy in September. Jo works for Francois Freres here in South Africa, and is a key player to the production of great wines in the surrounding areas. She was generous enough to take me out with her boyfriend for the day to see the sights. Firstly - we conquered the heights of the Table Mountain 1600 meters above sea level, by riding up in a Cable Car. From the top of the Mountain we could look down on the entire city and surrounding natural landmarks - Cape of Good Hope, Lyon's Head, Devil's Peak, False Bay, V & A Waterfront, etc... It was breathtaking. All around the Mountain adventurous souls flocked. Paragliders were floating over the ocean, rock climbers were adjusting their ropes and hikers were burning their calories for the week. I questioned my own adventurous soul, but decided I best wait for now. It was lunch time, nonetheless, and it was time to eat some seafood. So that's what we did.

After riding the Cable Car down and getting a 360 view of the town, Jo, Willy and I went to the Waterfront for some sushi, fish and prawns, along with a few glasses of Chenin blanc and Shiraz. Yum. Afterwards we walked around listening to music and grabbing some ice cream cones to cool off.

So I am very excited indeed to be out and about, and now I must sign off on this Tuesday early afternoon to meet up with Liam and Louise, my fellow interns, to catch the India v. S Africa cricket match!

Love you all. Over and out,

d'laur