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...
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