Out with the old...
Falling behind on blog posts is much like falling behind on an online collegiate course or even worse remembering to fill out your time card every day....
Needless to say this past week has been a bit taxing with several trips back up to Pine Mountain, lying due Northeast of Cloverdale, the former capitol of Northern California's timber industry.
Wednesday we picked Chardonnay for Caputure Wines, which was founded by the proprietor of the Pine Mountain vineyard. With a French winemaker, an emphasis of gentle processing and their motto "Bordeaux Tradition, Frontier Spirit" it is no wonder that the pick was to require specail instructions. In an attempt to avoid any juicing the boys picked the fruit into individual FYB bins which were then placed on a pallete, plastic wrapped and hauled off to a custom crush facility some 30 minutes away.
Wooden picking bins are now a thing of the past. Too much potential for bacterial infection as wood is not as easily sanitized as food grade macro bins or metal gondolas.
... in with the new.
Hauling four palletes of the FYB bins proved to be another challenge. As the brushburn sped in and out of the curves of the 128 leading to Chalk Hill, the bins flexed and gave in to gravitational pull, giving me added impetus to drive a tad slower than my usual country pace. Offending speeding motorists seems to have become my new MO on the Sonoma backroads.
While dropping at the custom crush facility, which happens to be another vineyard we farm, the on site vineyard liason El Leoncito passed me a perfectly ripe organic melon. Not wanting to offend, but yet knowing there was a small chance I would actually eat the fruit I warmly obliged. My little melon sat shotgun all day, infusing the cab with aromatic musk melon smells as the day heated up.
I wanted to eat him, I really did but I was without knife or spoon and my hands as per usual were covered with dirt, rust, grime and a mixture of humic acid. Better off to let the melon be, my own make believe friend akin to Tom Hanks' 'Wilson' in the flic Cast Away. As the day grew long and my eyes heavy I began to batter the melon with a list of unanswered querries that dance through my head everyday: "Why can't this fertigation be over?", "Will Glenn Danzig ever return to front for the Misfits?", "the Sex Pistols or the Ramones," "punch downs or pump overs," "porter or stout," etc. etc.
Not wishing to respond I sought to ease the tension with a joke:
Q: What did the mama melon say to the baby melon's boyfriend?
A: You Cant-Eloupe!
No response.
***
Merlot: out of vogue
Once the one of the two poster children for Napa Valley Merlot sales have plummeted since the late 90s. While I am not a fan of the grape I can see the beneficial uses for blending and enjoyjment as a stand alone varietal. However, the green olive notes the fruit often gives off in the wine just don't do it for me.
Merlot in my opinion best reflects the whimsical nature of the American consumer. Today's treasures are soon tomorrows trash. That is to say it blows my mind that although a variety that has been popular and remains so today in Bordeaux for over 200 years can so easily be deemed undrinkable and banished from wine lists overnight by a country with a short and stunted wine history.
Another one bites the dust....but will it be 'retro' to drink Merlot in 20 years? If I were a betting man I might put a few clams in the affirmative's corner.
Thursday we returned to Pine Mountain to pick, as you might have guessed, the Merlot. Today I coasted solo as Mr. Melon sat in the cooler climes of the refrigerator awaiting judgement day. A straighforward day nonetheless with a trip to La Nalgona for a few heaping tacos. Stretch pants and tacos, what a combo.
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