Eno Files

Sth Australia through the words of Marie Dale...

2010-08-07T10:05:00.001-07:00

We have had a very busy time here in Adelaide - we started in the south in an area called McLaren Vale & soon discovered that it wasn't possible to do one poster for the whole of South Australia not only because there are just too many to represent, but also that the separate areas are just that -separate - and shouldn't be lumped together. Fair enough. That was invaluable information and just what we needed to be comfortable with the project.

Our first few days we collected 31 doors & then headed north to THE BAROSSA and found a huge supply of wonderful doors with so much history eg Jacob's Creek, Charles Melton, Seppeltsfield, Langmeil etc. It's a huge area with several little pockets of wineries so that has meant quite a lot of driving, all in lovely countryside of course, and having 2 of us means I can keep records on the run & try to help navigate, something that I'm not too good at esp with the maps that aren't quite true.

The weather has been freezing, cloudy, showery and yesterday we had to cope with rain & mud - very unpleasant, but we managed to get lots done. We can't believe how well you did on your own in NZ, you deserve a medal!

Dad looked up his cousin when we got here last week & we visited him & his wife on Sunday.

It's amazing up here seeing all the churches - a large part of the history is German so the people who came here in the early 1800's were Lutheran. That means most of the churches are Lutheran, with the odd Anglican or baptist. So every few k's there's another Lutheran church with at least 2 in each little village, and the are very beautiful old buildings. Haven't seen inside one as they are always locked.

The foxes were just lying there for all to see - not sure what the motive is - someone suggested it kept others away but not sure about that. I don't think foxes would be wandering along the road thinking about which fence they might climb over or under? They are real pests here for the sheep & chicken farmers.

We've had a few tastings, not many and they're all great - we've bought a couple of loverly reds, one shiraz & one merlot. The shiraz was quite expensive & needs a few years to mature so we'll put that away. It's from a winery called Stanley Lambert Wines & is owned by a family from Wisconsin. We met the son, Kirk.

The visit to Jacob's Creek was terrific. The PR guy there, Jim Keane, couldn't have been more helpful & showed us all over the property to the old original barns, houses etc. They have an amazing set up there with an animal farm, bush walk, convention centre etc.

Thus the trip so far...

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A day in the life of Renee - the novel...

2010-07-30T17:58:00.001-07:00

I wake up to the awful polyphonic sounds of my LG flip phone.. after rushing around I am ready in a jiffy. I really try hard to stay quiet for my house mate but I just "canno dooo i' cap'n" ... I jump in my car that smells like pina colada, drives like a sofa strapped to a boat and has no stereo ....

Once I've checked the answer phone at my boss/now my temporary desk "you have No new messages...not even from your mother"... I run through my list of things to do that I've (hopefully) written the day before.

The first hour I spend usually biking around/through the cave on the winery's fixed gear cruiser bike collecting barrel samples to test for SO2 (sulfur dioxide in the wine). Then I spend an hour running the SO2s on a laboratory apparatus which takes 10 minutes per sample. This is usually done to the awful musical beats of the cellar crew which usually consists of Journey, the Eagles, Huey Lewis and some random Mexican music thrown in to the mix. Ok I get it, we should appreciate the oldies so we can appreciate the music we have now. But every day...?

When I have my own winery, music will be mixed and performed to the tasting room by a live DJ with the music amplified all around the complex on amazing speakers and subwoofers... yep..

10 am its break time... I make sure I taste every sample before tipping it out.. So with wine stained teeth I greet the crew for a quick couple of peanut butter smothered bagels. We usually all talk about what fish tastes best and the best way to cook it. Then we might have a quick discussion about the World Cup soccer before the conversation slips into Filipino and I start to day dream about whats for lunch...

I then finish up my laboratory work and get stuck into emailing, calling, organising vineyard visits or fungicide spraying. This is the first year I've been really actively involved with the vineyards and whats happening in each one. So after just a couple of weeks I am becoming really familiar with what is happening in each block, how far behind in growth it all is etc...

Because this area had such a huge amount of rainfall we are quite far behind in growth and vineyard management will be really important, picky and different to the previous years. Which means I have to spend alot of time jumping in the Kawasaki (4WD little cart) and zooming around the estate checking out the growth of the vines and grape flowers/bunches. ((This is very exciting! Except for when it runs out of gas 1 mile away from the winery))

Once the vineyards have been visited I may have some blending to do. The nice white clean laboratory gets a sprinkling of red wine droplets all over the place as the mad scientist in me comes out. "90% of this with 3% of that... and 2% of this...with 5% of that hmmm somethings missing.. how about 95% of this with a pinch of this, a splash of this and a dash of that...oh look out I should be spitting this...luckily I'm not driving today!" whew!

Sometimes the heroine in me shines through... a keg tasting before it is used to top wine is pretty standard issue when it comes to being a winemaker. It would be terrible if one bad keg ruined a whole batch of wine. All those "wine fairies" who sneak around in the dark and drink from the barrels leave these barrels a little empty after a while which means the barrels have to be topped up with some wine...

The other day I was brought a sample from a shady little keg to use for topping.. the wine, it looked clean, smelt ok, but tasted pretty average...i jumped on my bike and waved down my coworker - just in time - to tell him he couldn't use it...whew! sometimes that happens and you just have to sacrifice the odd keg in order to save the rest of the lot in barrels.

After work I jump in my dodge dynasty, beat box my way home where my awesome housemate awaits me with some home grown fresh vege goodness or some sweet food in the fridge or plans for a potluck dinner. Yes it usually involves food or if I'm lucky maybe even a run!

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Things Renee learnt on her trip back to USA so far... 97 degrees F = 36 degrees C ... don't park your car for 4 months and not expect mice ... vacuum sealed packing bags are winners! and ... Air NZ sucks ...

2010-06-13T00:23:00.001-07:00

Passengers near the tail of a plane are about 40 percent more likely to survive a crash than those in the first few rows up front.

I tell my self this as my stomach turns itself inside out and back to front and starts digesting itself. I'm in the 2nd to last row, and no one is sitting in the row behind me. I'm the first person to smell the food being cooked, and I'm the last person to be served it. I'm getting "hangry" (hunger + anger = hanger)...The aromas of lamb and butter chicken mix in together with the smells of the bathroom to my left...gag.

my TV screen reboots itself for the 3rd time when I finally get served my lamb casserole. I've given up on learning "how to train a dragon" and opt for half a sleeping pill... which works really well up until the part when I try doing the sly manoeuvre of stealing the 3 seats behind me. i think to myself "this is my time - i finally get those magical 3 seats of rest everyone dreams of!" - until the air stewardess says "I'm sorry we've reserved these seats for staff in case of turbulence".. what?! they have their own strappy in seats don't they? grrr .. so i opt for trying to maximise the spare seat next to me except the arm rest gets stuck half way up...so i ask the air stewardess why its broken.. and she replies "oh no its only meant to go halfway up" ...is Air NZ trying to deter people from lying down and being comfortable? you know, making the most of the spare space?... this makes no sense!! and i grumble myself to sleep with my legs stretching out in weird and wonderful angles only to be woken several times by the bathroom chatter throughout the night.. why must people gossip when they go to the bathroom!! grr

Back of the bus? never again... Air NZ? you're not my friend!

....

despite all that i made it safely and pretty smoothly in to the US.. arriving to 97 degree heat! i got picked up and managed to have a lovely catch up with my wonderful boss who helped me pick up my car i had stowed at the winery for 4 months.. yay the breaks work! and all my stuff i kept in it is still intact..

only problem was when i started to pull some of my boxes out of the boot i noticed fancy little balls of fluff... hmmm that's kinda cute and odd... and then it hit me.. the smell of mice hit my nose... and i literally had to steady myself so i wouldn't gag...there were 3 nests.. and 2 dead mice... wheres the 3rd one? all i know is, if it wasn't for vacuum sealing all my stuff, i probably would have cried.. but luckily, i had.. and instead, i laughed, and am spending the day on Monday to valet, register, and fix up my dodge dynasty...needless to say I've already started looking for a new car..

my housemate is lovely and awesome, along with the house itself bein quirky and cute with lots of character! i love this neighbourhood too :)

oh the drama! thus far are the adventures of Renee in the USA... and it hasn't even been 12 hrs yet!

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I will stop at nothing for a good door!

2010-05-08T03:37:00.001-07:00

I slept in. I decided that it was ok to sleep in on a Saturday and just take it a bit slower to visit some of the wineries that are what I like to call "outliers" - the ones that are much further out of town such as Yealands Estate for instance.

There was another winery I was permitted by one of the owners to visit while I was out in Awatere valley, only problem was it was shut! So I jumped the fence and walked about 1km in my heeled boots down the gravel driveway, no idea where I was going just to take a photo of their gorgeous doors. I will stop at nothing for a good door! I felt like the paparazzi, and yes, it was definitely worth it!

Yesterday was an experience of a lifetime! I went to about 12 wineries and spent a little more time at each winery - one winery in particular was awesome! Auntsfield Estate, where I was taken to the over 100 year old wine cellar which had been only recently discovered after being covered in soil to hide it throught prohibition/temperence movement. To save from sounding like a boring history book - I was blown away by the history and beauty of this place.

Blenheim/Marlborough - beautiful!!! But I fear that it would be slightly boring to live here if you weren't in the wine industry, because it is everywhere and it really seems to be holding this place together.

I'd like to give a shout out to Mum, Happy Birthday today and Mother's day for tomorrow! Love you!

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The week is flying by down here in Marlborough! Every winery is being fantastically helpful, and I have stories to tell from each one..dont worry i'll spare you most of them!.

2010-05-06T05:15:00.001-07:00

Marlborough - Not friendly enough to let me know I had something on my face all day… yet still a VERY friendly and helpful wine region!

I’m in love with this place and I’m falling in love with the idea of growing and producing Pinot Noir here. Interesting to find out that a few producers are making Syrah!! Which will be VERY interesting to see how that turns out - Maybe with global warming it will be a future varietal for Marlborough ? ;) Theres also a couple of places producing Montepulciano (yum!)

Driving west out of Blenheim towards Renwick with the numerous wineries and brown hills either side of the valley, vineyards as far as the eye can see, reminds me of Napa Valley. It is a very different climate obviously and none of the wineries seem to overshadow their customers with their prowess, prestige or money like they do in Napa. Its ‘New Zealand’s Napa’ having put NZ on the map in terms of premium wine, much like Napa did for USA, but its definitely still KIWI!

I really seem to get that the people here must LOVE their lives because everyone is so lovely. There seems to be a buzz here, every winery I go to the people have been receptive, positive and helpful. I can’t wait to get this product into their area because it will be another celebration of Marlborough and something else they can pat themselves on the back for.

Something I notice down here is the ingenious ways of using old barrels to decorate… Mahi winery has a stunning weave pattern of barrel staves from floor to ceiling… other wineries use old barrel staves to create a bike stand or two. I love it!

27 wineries down, all of which had some door of interest to photograph too!

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Spent the morning watching a 25 Tonne sleeping giant sleep.

2010-05-04T03:33:00.001-07:00

Kaikoura

Camper vans

Crayfish stalls

Horses

Hippies

Accents

Frost

Train tracks

Albatrosses

Braided rivers

Whales

Fur Seals

Dramatic skies

Pies

I had a fantastic morning on the magical, beautiful waters of Kaikoura watching a sperm whale sleep. Luckily it woke up and finally decided to dive! But UNluckily my photos did not do the experience ANY justice! I am upset about that, but my memory will just have to last. We also bumped in to about 150 - 200 dolphins and a couple of fur seals!! Magical!

The drive up to Blenheim was amazing ... all along the coastline I almost cried at how beautiful it was - I cry at random things. But I am honestly boggled at why I didn't grow up in this area!!! It is soul healing!

Driving up Highway 1 and coming up around that first bend to see the grape vines spreading across as far as the eye can see, with the beautiful ocean right next to it. SIGH ... what an amazing place. I feel like I am somewhere foreign, I really had no idea how beautiful this place was...

Bring on the rest of the week!!

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Thank GOODNESS for long johns I say - BRRR it was cold in Christchurch today!!

2010-05-03T02:38:00.001-07:00

It all began with an overheating car… luckily we had a spare! We threw my luggage into the spare car’s open boot like a rigorous rugby passing drill, jumped in and zoomed off weaving our way through the awful Auckland morning traffic. GRRR TRAFFIC! Luckily I knew some shortcuts from my old Villa Maria days, and we got to the airport with 10 mins to spare! Yessss! Landing in Wellington was a bit hairy compared to landing in Christchurch where we glided in perfectly!!

Picked up my rental car and some groceries, cranked the iPod and headed north towards Waipara. Wow driving through Christchurch brought flashbacks of 7^th Form, (Senior year) High School Soccer Nationals where we won the tournament and played the Final while it was snowing! EGGS Leg….ends! I half expected “Brown Eyed Girl” or “Buttercup” or Christina Aguilera to start playing on the radio! Ahhh…Great memories!

The main thing that caught my attention on the drive up was the sky. What amazingly dramatic clouds that form over Canterbury!! Detailed clouds carpeted the blue sky, and the Autumn sun still managed to shine through and light the vines with such drama!

I stopped off at a few wineries on the way up but the coolest winery was Muddy Waters winery! Why you ask? Because once again I bumped into an old University class mate!! Actually one of the same ones I bumped into in Yarra… how funny! And the owner was awesome too… That really made my day =)

Stunning wineries down here and really lovely people so far! Waipara seems to me like it is a valley that is full of hidden treasures yet to be explored, and its so close to Christchurch! It also has a quirkiness to it that I love.

Sitting in my room at the Albatross Inn, and its things like the communal guitar, people making brownies, recycling in the kitchen, hot water bottles, and signs such as “please do not use the provided towels for dolphin/seal swimming” and “In the case of Tsunamis a man from the street will yell at you to get out.” that make me fall in love with this place called Kaikoura.

Whale watching tomorrow!! Yes, real whales! Not fat people lying on a beach but REAL live, water spurting, tail splashing, whales!

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I wanna be Lapostolle's Apprentice!!

2010-04-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

Chile needs another KIWI!

Please people! Get out there and vote for me! Everyone who knows me, knows how passionate I am about life!

.. but nothing can beat my passion for wine!

I've just finished a winemaking job in Clevedon, Auckland, NZ where I literally slept above the winery! Not very restful with all the generators going etc. but it was a great experience.

A far cry from the comforts of Pride Mountain Vineyards in Napa, CA where I'll be returning in June 2010 as their Harvest Enologist.

I dove straight into studying winemaking out of High School and received a scholarship to travel Italy for 5 weeks in 2006, graduated as Valedictorian in 2008 whilst working at Trinity Hill winery in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.

I have been literally living out of a bag for the last 3 years travelling to work in Auckland NZ, Napa, CA (twice), and Yarra Valley (Australia).

BRING ON CHILE!!

Trading in the wine stained jeans and gummies for a Canon 30D and heading off to Marlborough on 3rd of May!

2010-04-06T00:16:00.001-07:00

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Whats worse than getting trapped in the winery toilet up stairs, and having to climb through spider webs and dead mice roofing? ....getting trapped in there twice...only me

2010-03-28T03:11:00.001-07:00

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I think that could have been officially the best Monday I've ever had to date! Thanks Central Otago I've had a fantastic, fun and enlightening trip! I can't wait to be back!

2010-03-01T20:32:00.001-08:00

The rain didn't dampen my spirits one little bit! It was a magical Monday - started off on the right foot with GeorgeFMs miraculous reggae, YEAH YEAH! I headed on my drive over to Alexandra which took me through one of the most amazing drives I've had in my beloved NZ. It was something different - like something out of a movie - maybe a movie called something like "When Western Cowboys meet Mars". I don't know but I've never seen anything quite like it.

Alexandra and Gibbston were my favourite places of this whole trip for different reasons. Gibbston seems to have a lot more money thrown at the "Tasting Room" experience, coupled with foreign tasting coordinators and bus loads of tourists while still managing to maintain an intimate, quirky feel to it. I enjoyed meeting everyone on my trip through Gibbston, but nothing can quite compare to Alexandra.

There aren't many tasting rooms in Alex but theres a heap of history! My first stop of the day was at Dry Gully where I met one of the first original winegrowers of the region. Here they had an old stable made from schist set up as a tasting room/wine store. They only do tastings by appointment and I wonder if thats mainly because there isn't a huge "wine tasting/touring" vibe to Alex - visitors here seem to be more about fresh fruit and biking the rail trail than wine tasting. But it was lovely to meet the owner Bill who told me the history behind the 100y old stable door and I departed with a lovely gift of 06 Pinot Noir!

I then headed to Como Villa which isn't on the wine map unfortunately but it is definitely worth a visit! There again was a 100y old building made from schist converted into a venue. The land was purchased with this building being used as a storage without adding much value to the property. The current owners have restored it and discovered lots of old possum traps and utensils and all sorts of old things in the back yard which decorate the walls. Premium Pinot Noir is just a bonus to this venue and adds an extra bit of romance to this rustic beautiful venue. To add to the greatness of my day the owner offered me a quick spin in his 1923 restored Dodge pickup truck!! WOW! Absolutely loved it!

After meeting the founder of the stunning vineyard Drumsara and his old door, Hinton winery which is beautifully positioned right next to the old rail trail and according to Sarah Hinton is constantly being cycled by tourists and "lots of Aucklanders!", I then headed to Shaky Bridge winery. There I met a friend of a friend to the owner of Pride Mountain Vineyards (my employer) in USA! What a small world it is! I love it!

now, whats next? Marlborough?

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Weekend work involving C. Otago Pinot Noir, old school Packards, fush and chups, wedding crashing and shotover jetboating!

2010-02-28T02:38:00.001-08:00

Mixing business with pleasure sure worked for me this weekend!

It was a lazy start to the day on Saturday, sleeping in til 9, and taking a good 3 hours to get on the road. I was so happy to be driving to Wanaka! I'd never been there before and was soaking in the views of the drive up there through the Cardrona valley. The sun was shining and I was grooving to the sounds of Creedence Clearwater as those cute little cotton ball aka "fairies" floated over my windshield. I waved at the famous Cardrona Hotel and headed toward Rippon Vineyard & Winery. Wow, what a spectacle! No wonder the music festivals held there are epic! It is positioned right on the hill on the side of Lake Wanaka and looks out over the vineyard, lake, mountains and the cute little island next to the lakeside.

I wandered through the Saturday market, old school Packard cars, sussed out a potential retailer in the art store there and bought some yummy fish and chips for lunch. I watched the families, lovers, kids, and ducks brave the frigid waves of the lake. Heading south to Cromwell and not finding too much luck on the door front. This climate is completely different to how I expected it. It is dry and arid with an almost desert feel to it. Drier than I even imagined! I had images of green farm lands and native bush - no idea why! High expectations of Middle Earth? Thanks to Peter Jackson...

Later I splurged on a burger from Ferg's - world famous burgers!! SO yummy and paired well with my Monteiths Original. I then dragged myself out of bed for the best start to the day ever which consisted of bacon & eggs + the shotover jet boat ride of my life!

Gold panning has been postponed so I'll have to give you an update on my irish luck at a later stage...

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got chatted up by a smiley road worker irish dude, he had crooked teeth and smelt of greasy food...

2010-02-26T03:05:00.001-08:00

Day Three over already??

Today was a little bit more like a wild goose chase! I drove all day, and drove all day, and drove - all day. Met some awesome people and felt satisfied after crossing off 25 "wineries" off the wine trail map. Only problem was they were so spread out! I even had to pull off the road and stop again for a wee nap. The roads here are madness! All of a sudden they change from perfectly paved roads to unsealed 50km/hr driveways!

I finished my day in beautiful historic Arrowtown eating a dark chocolate and macadamian icecream from delicious "Patigonia"... say it with me "Pat - i - GO - nya". I bumped into Jase from Waitiri Creek - what a small town it is despite the amazing amount of foreignors!

Todays stories weren't really up to scratch really were they? But I've included a cartoon I drew of a cool looking dude I saw hitch hiking on the side of the road on my first day here... I've nicknamed him "Harry the hairy hitch hiker"...

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Queenstown - Around every corner is a surprise radio station!

2010-02-25T00:16:00.001-08:00

Day Two

Queenstown really is a magical place...around every corner is a brand new view. Around every corner there is a brand new radio station too! On the same frequency it changed from GeorgeFM to Breeze to The Edge as I turned around different corners. I'm only using my trusty 1 gig iPod from now on - it has lasted me 4 years!

Today was one of those days that was so successful it was almost boring. I feel like I have to take a second to catch my breath every time I look around. Why am I not living here?? This place is magical! Everyone was so pleasant and accomodating and had a particular feel to them. Central Otago wineries have a particular feel to them, and attract a certain breed of person. Down to earth, hardy, helpful, encouraging, fun, outdoorsy, well rounded, foreign accented, amazing people. I want to be a part of this place.

I hit up 13 wineries today; I survived the drive to Chard Farm, I got to meet one of my best friend's awesome old boss at Waitiri Creek, I met the amazingly friendly Duncan from Mount Edwards, tasted some yummy Pinot Noir from Brennan's, trapped some winery workers at Gibbston Valley's amazing cave, and made a new friend at Olssens with the Hector dolphin's WWF coordinator who started the "dolphin wine" project to raise funds to save our native dolphin species! *GASP* ... not a boring day at all really! But all happy stories which make me feel all warm inside and make me realise that, despite my cracking voice, I love meeting and talking to new and exciting people.

There are so many of them out there to meet! Tonight I got carried away with talking to 3 60yos from Portland Oregon, who sailed from Mexico to Auckland in 6 months. They only started sailing in their mid 40s!! So there is PLENTY of hope for me yet... I feel so priveleged to have met them! Another treasure of an encounter to add to my list...

I'm exhausted... 9.15pm past my bedtime!

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"On today's flight we have the following snack options to choose from: a bag of vegie chips, a piece of fruit, or a..cookie."

2010-02-23T23:13:00.001-08:00

Day One

Not much in the way of stories to tell but after my supremely smooth 2 hr flight (with a perfect landing) I fluffed around finding my rental car and GPSd my way into downtown Queenstown. Losing myself amongst the hustle and bustle of foreign languages and accents and cool funky fashion! Everyone is FOREIGN! Its incredible! I absolutely love it... I sat down with a soy latte and a steak & mushroom pie, smothered in tomatoe sauce - strange combo there, but after the stinginess of Air NZ I needed some good ol' kiwi TUKKA! And, well...i like soy.

Nestled between some beautiful mountains my little "deluxe cabin" and I watch the sun go down over shotover river. Its beautiful here... aside from the road works i can faintly hear, its absolutely gorgeous here. I'm hoping to meet up with my good friend's old uni friends (whom I've never met) on Friday and bop to a live concert of Tiki Taane - love him!

Tomorrow, it begins...*doors glorious doors! I'm anxious to try it!*

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I received an anonymous, BEAUTIFUL bunch of flowers care of "Roses are Red" today wishing my success for Winery Doors in Central Otago this coming week! THANKYOU!

2010-02-22T02:17:00.001-08:00

Whoever you are mystery person/s ~ you brightened up my day so thankyou very much!

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Winer Doors: Hunter Valley, Australia poster stockists now available!

2010-02-21T16:10:00.001-08:00

Here is where you can find our second poster of the series...

"Winery Doors: Hunter Valley, Australia":

Hunter Valley stockists:

Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism

Hunter Valley Cellars Shop 20-21 Hunter Valley Gardens

Tamberlaine Wines

Iron Bark Hill vineyard

De Bortoli Wines

Peterons

Tallavera Grove Vineyard

Peterson House

Bimbadgen Estate Wines

Lindemans Wines

Pokolbin Winemakers Outlet

Wyndham Estate

Stonehurst Cedar Creek

Mount View Estate

Pepper Tree Wines

Mount Pleasant Wines

Undercliff Winery & Gallery

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Invited to Waiheke with Auckland Uni Chemistry department...

2010-02-17T18:17:00.001-08:00

What a random day! But really alot of fun and a great opportunity to meet such amazing people! I thought while I was there I might as well take some photos of doors right? =)

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I'm now officially a TROPICAL CYCLONE! Priveleged!!!

2010-02-13T21:25:00.001-08:00

Watch out NZ... here comes Tropical Cyclone Renee! hehe

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Yarra Valley Day 4, going to explore, wineries galore! 1 door, 2 door, 3 door - FLOOR!

2010-02-11T13:03:00.001-08:00

I'm really proud of my little rhyme above! I can only really rhyme when I'm excited about something. Today we were hitting the wineries that I like to call the "outliers". Off the beaten track and hard to get to. So we headed west from Lilydale to a winery called Yarra Burn, which really wasn't that far away, and who were really friendly and accomodating. When we went out the back to talk to the winemakers I realised that I knew one of them! Then 2 others came out from the lab and it was like this huge EIT reunion! So unexpected and probably really loud and annoying for the other office staff! This really started our day on the right foot and put a spring in my step.

Further north we headed up towards Panton Hill which has an amazing hippy - historical feel to it. There is a general store there dating back to the 1890s! Incredible! Here we were met by the icy cold shoulder of one particular winery who wouldn't even give us a minute out of their day to not only hear our speel but even meet us! The girl who greeted us said that the owner wasn't interested in being involved and then she said "but I personally think that is a fantastic idea - so I don't quite know why" . We are exciting people to meet! Surely you would want to at least shake our hand and look at our beautiful artwork...? No? Pity...

Nevertheless we shook our heads, bit our tongues and jumped in the car - onwards and upwards! Our next stop has got to be my most amazing experience of our whole trip! We stopped in at a winery called Red Box and met the owner, Colin, who expressed some interest in our artwork and casually invited us to have a coffee with him. I knew that Marie was dying for her midday coffee so we were more than happy to take him up on his free offer and promptly sat down inside the cute, quaint little cellar door. Over a coffee we learned of this amazing character's history. The sort of history that if I told you, I'd have to kill you... he seemed like one of those treasures you stumble across in life who are just full of amazing stories! His doors were made from old wood from an old refrigeration plant and this wood still had holes in it from the bolts that were used in construction. So they put in these holes old wine corks! Perfect really! He then took us to his beautiful mudbrick house and showed us a stunning old stained glass window which has been dated back to the 1700s! along with a giant old piece of wood from Melbourne's first wharf which was put in place 150 years ago... so many treasures here! Colin then suggested that when this product is all up and running, perhaps I make a speech at his local Rotary club - which I've done before and would jump at any opportunity to do again!

I was sad to leave Red Box because I felt like there were so many stories I would love to learn about from Colin. But our focus was on the doors and we stopped at the lovely Panton Hill winery before heading back east across to Yileena Park winery where we learned that the bush fires of 09 came within a metre of their cellar door and miraculously spared their beautiful building and vineyard. Roundstone up the valley unfortunately was not spared, and as we drove further north we could see that the damage of the fires was still apparent. However, it is incredible to see green growth and new bark filling the area and we can see and feel the strength and tenacity of the human spirit overcoming this huge tragedy.

We have visited 62 wineries in the Yarra Valley... we have one left to visit, before heading back to the city to spend some much needed time resting and relaxing with family and friends.

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

Day 3 of the Yarra Valley - rain cleaned our car for us, 200 yr old doors, Napoleon the moose, and ozzie mozzie bitten legs!!!

2010-02-11T03:39:00.001-08:00

Days blur into each other when you're on the road like this! I wanted to write an update of yesterday's adventures but I got a chance to go and have a few drinkies with an ex work mate of mine which was really lovely! I definitely never expected to keep so well in touch with fellow interns from around the world. I guess you never really expect your paths to cross again but they do, and it is so exciting when they do! So much can happen in a year!

We started yesterday not sure of the Seville Hill area of Yarra Valley because I'd never been down there myself. I was a little anxious and unsure that there would be any decent doors down that way. Little did I realise that this would be our best day for doors! We came across a brilliant pair of 200 year old chinese antique doors at Wild Cattle Creek winery. WOW! And the owner Heather was wonderfully receptive and excited about our product! She was the first to actually do the math and work out that by selling this product, you make more than 100% profit!! We also visited the beautiful venue & winery Elmswood Estate who were very excited by the poster along with a lovely Canadian named Wally who owns a beautiful winery called Five Oaks. Everyone along the route from Seville Hill towards Warburton were fantastic and there were some magical doors along the way.

We also got to meet another canadian - Napoleon, who towers over you at Train Traks' tasting room. Napoleon was a 950kg Moose and was 6ft high from shoulder to the ground!! GIANT! Imagine running into that at 100km/hr? Not fun! After that we headed west towards Yarra Glen and Lilydale stopping at Sticks winery who were really friendly, Bianchet's beautiful door and Billanook estate where we had to interrupt Henry, the lovely owner from mowing his lawns! It is weird for a budding young winemaker to associate wineries with their doors but that's how it is for me!

Every day this week has ended on a good note and yesterdays was no exception! We found ourselves at the end of our route at a gorgeous old winery called Kellybrook Winery. What a fantastic little facility! With a gorgeous little restaurant on site and about a 60 Tonnes capacity winery, we just had to stop and have a tasting. They also make their own cider! Their Shiraz was wonderful and was more of a cool climate, french style Syrah. But their magic was in their Pinot Brut sparkling wine. Hand riddled! This winery has a touch of history to it too and was started in the 70s. It had that feel of a go-getting entrepreneurial-type hard working, down to earth, family winery. Love it! I can really connect with people like that - they're my kinda people!!

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

Half way through the Yarra and our spirits are high, car is dirty, memory card is full, and a lager sounds good to me!

2010-02-09T02:20:00.001-08:00

Once again the day was sweltering hot... 35 degrees! The interesting thing was being so hot and driving through an electrical storm!

17 wineries down today we are now half way there!

Trying to deal with the heat, I believe, is putting everyone in the valley in a really strange mood. People here in the Yarra Valley are giving us some extreme cases of interest. I almost feel a little sad for a couple of wineries here because of this fantastic opportunity that they are missing out on, who refuse to share their beauty and history. Pity. But just the same we are getting loads of interest and positive feedback. We have discovered some great history here and uncovered a few hidden doors!

My favourite part of the day is the very last winery of the route. We have a rule - at the last winery we taste their wines too! Helen's Hill winery happened to be our last winery of the day! My was it beautiful, and we were so lucky to be meeted and greeted by the winemaker and the owner Alan, who took us through their wines and introduced us to their 2 yellow labradors Ceaser and Brutus. 06 Fume - "Evolution" was outstanding!

With Marie chasing the bugs out with her bug spray we are back taking a break from all the wineries and celebrating our day with a good old fashioned lager.

Tomorrow we may have to pull out the umbrella!! On to bigger and better things...

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

Day 1 in the Yarra...38 degrees, loads of encouragement, dirt roads, crazy sounding birds, and fine wine...

2010-02-08T01:54:00.001-08:00

It was like a game of "Spot the Sweat Patches" today... sooo many out there! 38 degrees celsius according to our car (Thats 100.4 Fahrenheit by the way!)

After getting some positive feedback about the poster and sound advice from the lovely ladies of Healesville Information Centre, we zoom zoom zoomed off in our Hyundai i30 bopping to Creedence Clearwater to our first winery of the day. It was a day after the Black Saturday 1 year anniversary, and after visiting a few wineries, we get the idea that people just don't want to think about it. All the media coverage was suffocating for the people whose memories are still so fresh and raw. I truly believe that offering a new product to this area to celebrate the Yarra Valley and to help in creating a snapshot of history will be such a beneficial thing. The fire licked eucalyptus stumps everywhere are a constant reminder of what happened, I think that its a relief to be able to think and talk about something different, new and exciting. Many of the first plantings of 1838 were converted to pasture due to the adverse natural conditions and the depression in 1937...lets hope we don't have a recurrance of that please!

I caught up with my old flat mate / awesome friend at Dominique Portet and spotted a helicopter coming into land. Wow people live lavishly up here! After stopping at the lovely Tokar estate, we must have looked like 2 suffering kiwis because a lovely young waiter offered us a much needed giant glass of chilled water! Luckily we had time to stop at my old work place Coldstream Hills which is undergoing a huge facelift! Luckily none of the guys have and I could recognise them a mile away in their hi-viz tops! It was so cool to see my "bros" again, and alot of the old crew are there again this year. We finished our day with a complimentary tasting thanks to Oakridge winery of their 08 Fume and 08 Chardonnay 864 which was absolutely delicious! What a way to finish!

We came across some beautiful winery doors and some real characters! We seemed to be following 2 ozzie blokes who were tasting their way through the gorgeous Yarra Valley in sweaty singlets, jandals (thongs) and stubbies!! After visiting 16 wineries we are about a quarter of the way through!

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

Black Saturday Anniversary - my heart goes out to all the survivors of the Victorian fires.

2010-02-07T02:40:00.001-08:00

Watching the stories on TV of the Victorian fires - incredible stories - so so sad...weird to be back in this valley again.

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

Made it to the Yarra! But not without a good dose of drama for good measure...

2010-02-07T02:21:00.001-08:00

I've secretly always wanted to have a run in with Customs just to see what it was like. I never really mean that because honestly it was not really that fun - a little embarrassing really. The photography gear that we were putting through the XRay machine has been put through XRay machines time and time again and for the last 20years, the battery pack for the camera flash has passed with flying colours! Just our luck we get pulled over by some lovely old man wearing blue epellets. Turns out people, that you can't travel with battery packs without a "Material Data Sheet" because if the battery is an LED acid battery it can create fires in the cargo hold of aeroplanes. YIKES!
So if you have documentation to prove that it isn't flammable - you should be fine, but I definitely reccommend checking out online or calling the airlines first to find out. You probably all know this and didn't need to be told, but those of you who don't? You can thank me later =)
I would just love to thank the CBP Officer who was kind enough to ask the airline if they would hold on to it for someone to come back and collect it. Thanks to Qantas being so awesome - we rescued the battery pack!!

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

Thanks to Clive and your photography team at Digital Icing for your great photos of HHB!!

2010-02-05T22:30:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

We just had a number of emails asking about the Hunter Valley poster...

2010-02-05T22:18:00.001-08:00

We have the Hunter Valley poster printed and already arriving at our storage facility there on Monday!

Hunter Valley poster will be ready for retail in Hunter Valley in 1 week - we will put our retailer's details online then...

Stay tuned!!

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

List of Poster Stockists...

2010-02-05T19:25:00.001-08:00

Here is where you can purchase our first poster in the series...

Hawke's Bay/Wairarapa:

Auckland:

Glengarry

Hawkes Bay:

Clearview Estate Winery

Crab Farm Winery

Edges Workshop

iSite Hastings

iSite Napier

Matariki Wines

Mission Estate Winery

Missionview Gardens

Ngatarawa Wines

Photopages @Napier

Salvare Estate Winery

Wine Country Home & Gifts

Martinborough:

iSite Martinborough

Martinborough Wine Centre

Te Kairanga Wines

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

We're almost at 100!

2010-02-05T15:10:00.001-08:00

We've been online for 2 days now and we're 8 fans away from having 100! Good work guys keep it up!

24 hours away from Yarra Valley.... =)

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

This is what we'll be cruising the Yarra in...

2010-02-04T17:37:00.001-08:00

Keep an eye out for the "European Korean Car" in Yarra Valley next week - it may be us!!

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

Winery Doors on Facebook!

2010-02-03T20:31:00.001-08:00

We've had 60 fans join us on Facebook in 12 hours! If you're not yet a fan join up on:
www.facebook.com/pages/#!/pages/Winery-Doors/296507121704
We have photo albums, fan comments and latest updates!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Renée's posterous

Black Saturday 1st Anniversary - Fundraising Luncheon. Feb 7th, Stones of the Yarra Valley

2010-02-03T18:44:00.001-08:00

Date: 7 February
Venue: Stones of the Yarra Valley, 14 St Huberts Rd COLDSTREAM
Contact Details:
9739 0900 or visit www.stonesoftheyarravalley.com
It's hard to believe that it has been 12 months since the tragic Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009. Whilst many families and businesses are beginning to get back on their feet, the Yarra Valley community needs our ongoing support.
To celebrate the strength of our wonderful community and commemorate the first anniversary of the fires, Stones of the Yarra Valley will be holding a special commemorative lunch on Sunday, February 7, 2010. 10% of gross proceeds will be donated to the Coldstream CFA, and we encourage everyone to book a table and support this great cause.
You may even like to consider further supporting the region by spending the weekend in our collective company - view www.visityarravalley.com.au for further information on our beautiful part of the world.

Time: 12.30pm

Cost: $70 per person

via visityarravalley.com.au

A whole YEAR has passed since I was there. How strange I will be arriving the same day! Unfortunately I don't fly in until late at night but if I was there I would be going! Guaranteed good food and wine - if you're pressed for finding ways to spend your pocket money, this is a great way to show your support!

Posted via web from Renée's posterous

This is my Dream Winery Dog!

2010-02-03T17:06:00.001-08:00

via c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com

My DREAM "Winery Dog"....sigh...one day!

Posted via web from Renée's posterous

Poster girl of Hawkes Bay!

2010-02-03T04:45:00.001-08:00

A little free publicity never hurt...thanks Hawkes Bay Today, Dominion Post and NZ Winegrower magazine!

Posted via email from M.'s posterous

Winery Doors online!

2010-02-03T04:33:00.001-08:00

Slowly but surely we are becoming viral here at Winery Doors. Sunday sees the photography team charging cameras, packing bags, and flying off to Melbourne Australia to tackle the Yarra Valley. Luckily enough I worked there last year and know my way around a little bit. After I get used to driving on the wrong side of the road, no wait.. the right side of the road. Actually it's the left, but also the right side. The correct side of the road. English is a silly language. I will be able to navigate around the valley from cellar door to cellar door with a couple of restaurants in between. Sounds like a pretty hard life to me. This photo was taken with a point and squirt Olympus M725 SW and is trying to show the smoke from the ends of the awful bush fires there in February '09. Lets hope we don't come across any of that this year.
Wish us luck!!
Renée

Posted via email from M.'s posterous

Invite only...

2009-09-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

My boss was invited to write for a blog called Napa Valley Vintners to give updates on our vintage and so every now and then she wants me (the intern) to write a bit too. I'm here to help! The blog however is invite only so I'll post what I write here too for all to see...

When you're smack bang in the middle of vintage and your supervisor laughs as he finds you on your feet leaning against a tank fast asleep at 3am you really do start to wonder what it's all for. That was my second vintage when I learned that night shift was just not for me, no matter how much candy, red bull, coffee or cheese toasties I consumed.

Every vintage I feel like I learn a heap of things in such a short space of time. This is my fifth vintage so far and I feel like I should be blowing out candles and cutting cake! Well, I did just celebrate my 23rd Birthday so I must be just still in the mood but I think it should be celebrated when you get to your fifth vintage and still feel the itch for fruit to come in and the excitement of the first load of fruit pulling up on the back of a flat bed.

The more I learn about wine, the more I don't know! After 3 years of studying it for my Bachelor's degree back home in New Zealand, and 5 years in the industry abroad, I still feel like a spring chicken intern. I know I could setup a pumpover in my sleep, and often have the odd haunting nightmare of broken hydrometers scattered around the cellar. I asked my boss Sally if she could interpret the dream for me and I think she was spot on: "I think you're bored and itching for vintage to start."

A very wise woman said to me recently: Be patient and enjoy the beauty of patience. Patience is a virtue; one that I clearly am lacking. We have been waiting patiently for these grapes to peak to their tastiest, and its already officially Fall! I'm hearing all about crazy long hour days and juice splattered interns. Right now I feel like I hardly even deserve my beer at the end of the day.

To be patient, is to spend a lifetime in the wine industry, knowing I will never know all there is to know about wine. Which is exactly what I intend to do. On my vintage experiences around the world I have learned that in order to survive a vintage:

Look after your feet

If you're hungry - EAT something

Always find time to laugh

The best way to earn the trust of your new work mates... is to feed them

Do not underestimate the value of communication

LKI
(Little Kiwi Intern)

Favourite story from '06

2009-09-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

This was written in an email whilst I traipsed across Northern Italy in 2006 funded by NZ Winegrowers, Conegliano and Taradale Rotary Clubs. As a young 19 year old kiwi girl, this was a trip of a lifetime and one that I never forget. This particular tale was a favourite and I feel it needs to be published here...

In Montepulciano i dined at the local pizzeria down the road. One night i came home to my hotel room and something flapped towards me as i switched on the light. It had been hot so i had left the windows open and it occured to me that this poor little bird must have got trapped. I immediately grabbed my towel and tried to shoo it out the windows before it pood on my clothes. But suddenly my stomach lurched up towards my mouth as i noticed the dark arches and points of its wings. A strange silence came over me and my senses heightened as i realised that this wasnt a bird, it was a BAT!! i felt - so - SICK... i started violently lunging at it with my hotel towel. i danced around the room, on top of my bed, ducking and lunging and squeeling.... my heart was racing and 2, 5, 10 minutes passed and it refused to exit out the large open windows!! i was so tired and frustrated and frightened. i sat down in the corner while keeping a stern eye on the tiny black thing clinging to the curtains. The whole room seemed to loom over me and the shadows seemed to be watching me. It took me another 10 minutes of lunging back and forth to realise something... all of a sudden i just could not stop hysterically laughing. i mean, how often do you lunge around your hotel room chasing a bat? eventually, the poor bat gave up flapping about and tried to hide in my luggage. i grabbed it with the towel and threw it out the window, hoping that it flew away and didnt just plummet to the earth...I felt I'd made a friend on my short stay in Montepulciano.

This story found its way in to the Taradale Rotary Clubs newsletter much to my dismay!!

Which fruit gets sung about the most?

2009-09-22T00:13:00.000-07:00

the Ba-na na-na na-na na-na na-na na-na na-na na-na ... batman... (sing to the batman theme song)

OK that was a lame joke...sorry folks but it sounds better in person and, well, i made that one up and I'm still a little proud. Have faith, I have a better one for you:

Whats worse than finding a fly in your Chardonnay?
Finding a Frog in it.

In order to turn the beautiful Chardonnay grapes into juice, one must squeeze the grapes in a giant press and pump the juice into a tank using two hoses and a pump. The only way to get the last of the juice in the hoses into the large tank is to push through the juice in the hoses with water. But of course we don't want the water to go into the tank and dilute our precious juice. So there has to be a valve at the bottom of the tank where we can pull a few levers and cut the water out just after the juice has gone into the tank.

This special attachment is what we call a "T" piece, or what some people call a "threeway". hmmmm. Definitly a man's world. In order to make sure no water goes into the tank, you can crack the threeway open a small amount and taste the juice going into the tank for water, as soon as you taste water you close the tank valve and open the threeway valve and let the water pump out down the drain.

The sun was beating down on me as I knelt at the bottom valve of the tank tasting the juice from the crack in the threeway ... juice - juice - juice - juice- juice? - WATER . I closed the tank and opened the threeway. As I walked over to turn the pump off I spied something in the hose that looked like a stick. I disassembled the threeway off the end of the hose and pulled out a slimy, sticky twig that had been trapped in the threeway. As my tired, sunburnt eyes focused on the stick in my hand I gave a YELP and threw it on the ground.. It wasn't a stick!! It was a frog!! A frog, stuck in the hose, that I was JUST tasting out of. Gag...please don't throwup!

Whats worse than finding a frog in your Chardonnay?
Finding half a frog.

Ewww it smelt like sickness, grime and slime and made me feel ill for the rest of the day. An involuntary wine and food pairing of Chardonnay and frogs legs. To me it was just another one of the hundreds of funny stories I could add to my list and was fun to tell over a beer at the end of the day. The thought never occurred to me of what could have happened to the rest of the frog. I was done with it.

Or so I thought! It was a few days later when I pumped the same juice into another tank, opened the door to clean the tank out at the end only to find two little frog arms waving at me from the bottom of the tank. I gagged at them. I finally found out what happened to the rest of the frog, the only problem was where was the head?

The great evil of wine is that it first seizes the feet, it is a crafty wrestler. Titus Maccius, 190 BC

2009-09-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well said Maccius! Wine is a crafty wrestler even at the best of times.

People have a misconception of winemaking being some romantic, fun, even glamorous job. I was guilty of that once too but I think we all need to remind ourselves of the reality of this job. I often come home with bruises all over me from knocking into tank valves, doors, barrels and all sorts of things. Last year I almost fell off the top of a tank in a bottling hall late at night with noone around. If it wasn't for my matrix moves I would have fallen 10 or so feet and wouldn't have been found until the end of the shift!

We aren't cute little winery workers who all have green hair, dress up in overalls and sing songs like "oompa loompa doompadee doo...". Winemaking isn't cute... it is a dangerous and messy job, and I feel its very important to tell you all so that the next time your visiting a winery you can take some caution and not look like the knob who steps in front of a forklift googling at the "cute little grapes" the forklifts carrying. Beep means = Move Now.

All the safety videos we watch as pre harvest training can be cheesy, boring and sometimes hilarious. But its all fun and games til you get home and get a call saying someone "..just got run over with a forklift? Are they ALIVE? Oh it was their foot...is it OK? Still attached?! WOW... Yay for steel caps!"

I just completed a full day of confined space training which was actually incredibly realistic. We learnt how to attempt a rescue of someone unconcious inside a tank by using an oversized hook and then if necessary we learnt how to don a SCBA tank (like SCUBA but without the underwater part). I climbed inside the tank with the SCBA tank in tow and I felt like Darth Vader as my breathing echoed around me and it suddenly felt so real. I noticed my breathing was not controlled at all. Its all about practise, and lets hope I will never have to use these skills! Our trainer reminded us that "alot of people have to die before they make a new rule". So the next time we think its OK to break one of these rules lets take a second to think about all those who died doing the exact thing we're about to do.

In 1997, a veteran employee who had recently participated in employee safety training sessions was found dead in an empty wine tank at Geyser Peak Winery, Geyserville, CA. As the supervisor he had come in early to check if his cellar hands had cleaned the tank sufficiently the night before. He opened the door, stuck his head in, and passed out with his head inside the tank. His workers had been efficient enough to clean the tank, and fill it with Nitrogen gas ready to receive wine. I bet they were heading to work that day ready for a pat on the back.

Not to mention the deaths that occured last year in Australia. At Leeton in the NSW Riverina a man died after getting his head trapped in a hopper which is a large stainless steel funnel shaped bin that recieves grapes and often has a rotating auger in the bottom of it. An explosion at the Drayton's Winery in the Hunter Valley killed winemaker Trevor Drayton and his cousin Edgar Orgo who was a contract welder. At the time, police believed welding sparks may have ignited ethanol in a wine vat but more than a year later they've only just finished their report.

Thats the thing about incidents, if we're not careful, and something serious happens it can sometimes take months to complete an investigation which means the whole business has to be shut down. Columbus Salame in San Francisco recently had an ammonia leak from the refrigeration plant that was being renovated. Eight people were hospitilised and 16 had to be stripped naked and hosed down in the street. Prior to this, the same company but in a different part of San Francisco had a huge four alarm fire putting 80 people out of work and still are since July.

Phil's four rules:

Make it home,
Make it to your retirement,
Don't be in any training videos, and
Don't get anything named after you.

I like the last one.

2009-09-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

The Californian Peach and Sherry Trifle Recipe

Preparation Time: between 30 minutes and 5 hours

Feeds (hopefully) up to 4 people

Ingredients:

½ hr Hunt for Sherry

1 oz of a Flirting, desperate, sweaty, funny looking "Calwine" cashier

1 hr Fruitless search for pre-made custard and sponge cake

½ doz Egg yolks

1 Cracked egg

2 Trips to Raleys grocery store

3 Messages home to ask for help

Method:

Custard

Take one deep breath.

Ensure your kitchen bench area is not unusually dirty, with the essential coffee stains and unidentifiable liquid spillages. It is important to remember your recipe book AKA Google is easily accessible, perhaps resting on a paper towel so as not to get dirty.

Choose one of the least dirty saucepans, clean, and fill with 20 fluid oz milk.

Ask Google how many mL of milk this is. Slowly heat the milk, ensuring you are using the correct element and not almost setting last weeks newspaper on fire. DO NOT BOIL.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg white except for the cracked egg. And except for the egg that had no yolk.

Slowly whisk the heated milk into the egg yolk. Add 25 g of caster sugar or normal sugar you "borrowed" from your landlady's cupboard.

Return to saucepan and slowly stir over a low heat for half an hour to thicken. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Remember to groove to the ipod tunes of Van Morrison.

Sneeze.

Set the now overcooked custard aside to cool.

Trifle

Spread the raspberry jelly over the soft golden cake slices, cut in half, and layer the cake and peaches on the bottom of the dish.

Pour half a cup of sherry slowly over the layers and cover with overcooked custard. Repeat. DO NOT DRINK THE CHEAP SHERRY. Yuck.

After searching high and low for the electric beater pour the whipping cream into a pre-chilled bowl. Proceed upstairs to bedroom to whip the cream so as not to wake the house up as it is now 11pm. When does wipping cream become whipped? Just before you realise you've made whipped butter.

Return downstairs to cover trifle in whipped butter and chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate.

Crawl in to bed at midnight and rest, praying your friends will eat it anyway.

The wine industry generates over 145,000 jobs in California

2009-09-11T00:10:00.001-07:00

NAPA, CALIFORNIA

I arrived here with 2 fully packed bags of dirty wine clothes, Pineapple Lumps and Whittakers Peanut Slabs for my fifth consecutive harvest and my second harvest in Napa, California.

It gave me a cheap thrill filling my customs card out in LAX with the occupation = WINEMAKER. For some reason the customs officers always love me.

Over the last 2 years I have been living out of a bag. I'm honestly sick of it. There's nothing glamorous about opening your toiletry bag to squashed and broken shampoo bottles. I also seem to leave a trail of breadcrumbs behind me wherever I go in case I ever need to retrace my steps... my favourite belt, my favourite concealer, my hair dryer, my whole life I entrusted to a sneaky misplaceable cellphone.

So this time round I decided to live out of two bags, and carry 3 cellphones.

2 weeks after arriving, I've found a place and I'm moving out of a house I often spent time at last year (sleeping off hangovers on the remarkably comfortable couch) into a beautifully new home with a father of 2. His name is Rocky and he looks like him too.

I'm excited about this harvest with a little more responsibility and opportunity than I have ever encountered before. With a position title of "Harvest Enologist" who could go wrong?

Meeting up with some old work buddies from last year has really shown to me how much can change in a mere 12 months. People get married...people become cold...people trade you in for newer models.

What I don't understand (and probably never will) is this incredible phenomenon of harvest interns. In USA an intern is someone who is employed to stand around, do nothing, and in the process hopefully learn something about wine. So these interns have a lot of spare energy for post work drinks and a unique bond is formed between them in the short space of 6 - 8 weeks. All of a sudden your whole life outside of your job is put on the back burner while the thrill of drinking and bonding and getting closer to each other somehow completes you. You find yourself working, drinking, sleeping, dining, living, breathing these people in, all day, every day. And although some of them really get on your nerves it's like an addiction. You just can't say no. Why do these people suddenly replace all the loved ones in your life you once would have done anything for prior to harvest?

Luckily, this harvest I am the one and only intern at my winery. I feel blessed to be out of that scene, and for once can focus on learning.

Let's see how it goes...