It's the Tuesday after President's Day, and son of tres_arboles is home sick with flu today. Being a good dad, tres_arboles has left him to rest in the family nest while I write another post describing this past weekend's fun.
On Saturday, February 16, 2008, after leaving the beach house to Justin the Plumber, Senor y Senora tres_arboles headed over to Westport's newest and perhaps most exciting venture, Winery by the Sea. Click on the title to this post to read a nice article in the local newspaper about owners Kim and Blaine Roberts. Kim and Blaine are neighbors with a colleague of mine, also a growing wine enthusiast. My buddy mentioned that I might be interested in participating in the first bottling. It would be an opportunity to pitch in and get into the Winery's community at the ground floor. Little did I know how fun, enthusiastic, and smart Roberts are.
Safe to say, they have been successful at everything else they have tried, and they have tried a lot. A dive company in Hawaii, boutique farming in Eastern Washington, and now, in retirement, a Winery taking shape. The ground is ready but not yet planted to the four estate vines they'll grow. But the operation and first crush of "borrowed" Eastern Washington fruit have been underway since the 2007 vintage, and it was time to get it ready to sell.
We arrived stylishly midday to see that some 300 cases had already been bottled and the system of volunteers was well established. We practically had to elbow our way the production line, our unpaid cohorts having sucked up the "good jobs." The pace was moderate and the abundance of gift labor allowed tres_arboles a chance to fire off a few photos.
The tasting room/events center. Construction is nearly complete. Lighthouse built by our general contractor for the beach house, Jim the Builder. His guys took over the job just as our house broke ground, the previous contractor proving less than capable beyond lofting the main post and beam building.
The "Ops Center." 13 wines in all manner of big-ass containers. Really cool pumps, hoses, and high pressure filters running between here and the bottling line. Lot's-o-stainless steel.
Another interesting item. Bottling-Op-in-a-Trailer! I had heard of "custom farming" before, but never "custom bottling."
Beautiful stainless steel vats filled with the goods! These guys also have some pretty cool features, like lids that fit inside the vat. The outer rim of the lid is filled with an inflatable bladder. This allows the vintner to lower the lid to a desired level above the wine, inject CO2 to get the air off the wine, and then inflate the lid-bladder to seal in that fermenting goodness.
The bottling line. Good product, fun day, happy volunteers.
Stoked volunteer, rockin' the Van Dyke facial hair!
Wine in, corks on, headed to the labeler.
The 2007 Merlot gets its label.
The 2007 Syrah; the official wine label of this blog. The surfer in the photo is winery owner Blaine Roberts surfing Maui in the 1970's. He's still hitting it today and probably had more water time in 2007 than you or tres_arboles. Well Blaine, there's plenty of 2008 left, and you have a new business to attend to!
On Saturday, February 16, 2008, after leaving the beach house to Justin the Plumber, Senor y Senora tres_arboles headed over to Westport's newest and perhaps most exciting venture, Winery by the Sea. Click on the title to this post to read a nice article in the local newspaper about owners Kim and Blaine Roberts. Kim and Blaine are neighbors with a colleague of mine, also a growing wine enthusiast. My buddy mentioned that I might be interested in participating in the first bottling. It would be an opportunity to pitch in and get into the Winery's community at the ground floor. Little did I know how fun, enthusiastic, and smart Roberts are.
Safe to say, they have been successful at everything else they have tried, and they have tried a lot. A dive company in Hawaii, boutique farming in Eastern Washington, and now, in retirement, a Winery taking shape. The ground is ready but not yet planted to the four estate vines they'll grow. But the operation and first crush of "borrowed" Eastern Washington fruit have been underway since the 2007 vintage, and it was time to get it ready to sell.
We arrived stylishly midday to see that some 300 cases had already been bottled and the system of volunteers was well established. We practically had to elbow our way the production line, our unpaid cohorts having sucked up the "good jobs." The pace was moderate and the abundance of gift labor allowed tres_arboles a chance to fire off a few photos.
The tasting room/events center. Construction is nearly complete. Lighthouse built by our general contractor for the beach house, Jim the Builder. His guys took over the job just as our house broke ground, the previous contractor proving less than capable beyond lofting the main post and beam building.
The "Ops Center." 13 wines in all manner of big-ass containers. Really cool pumps, hoses, and high pressure filters running between here and the bottling line. Lot's-o-stainless steel.
Another interesting item. Bottling-Op-in-a-Trailer! I had heard of "custom farming" before, but never "custom bottling."
Beautiful stainless steel vats filled with the goods! These guys also have some pretty cool features, like lids that fit inside the vat. The outer rim of the lid is filled with an inflatable bladder. This allows the vintner to lower the lid to a desired level above the wine, inject CO2 to get the air off the wine, and then inflate the lid-bladder to seal in that fermenting goodness.
The bottling line. Good product, fun day, happy volunteers.
Stoked volunteer, rockin' the Van Dyke facial hair!
Wine in, corks on, headed to the labeler.
The 2007 Merlot gets its label.
The 2007 Syrah; the official wine label of this blog. The surfer in the photo is winery owner Blaine Roberts surfing Maui in the 1970's. He's still hitting it today and probably had more water time in 2007 than you or tres_arboles. Well Blaine, there's plenty of 2008 left, and you have a new business to attend to!
After a day on our feet and 700 cases bottled, the Roberts shut down the line, sought out a few bottles burdened by, um, "glass flaws," and promptly uncorked for a crew tasting. I typically prefer red, and am still working my way through the varietals on the way to developing a palate. In fact, I have heard that ones should taste 10000 wines before citing their own experinece in taste. But I can state that despite my "inexperience," I know what I like and I loved the Syrah. It was relaxed and uncomplicated, as though it would not need much time in the bottle to come together and would drink well young.
The surprise wines of the day were fruited wines. They were really a revelation to me. In the past, I have considered fruited or flavored wines much like I do flavored coffee. There's just no need for it except to get someone to drink it that would not otherwise be disposed to drink it. But their Chocolate Raspberry and Berry wines were delicious. They crossed the tongue and released the easily identifiable flavor as they warmed, without being sickly or artificial in any way. In fact, the drink was so fresh that I could see popping the cork on a berry wine, mid-Saturday afternoon in the sun, all summer long! I am looking forward to their cranberry offering that will surely capture the spirit of Washington's cranberry coast.
0 comments:
Post a Comment