CorkPopper

I woke well before dawn on that cold early November morning, tired but giddy with anticipation.  I’d been waiting weeks for this day to come, reading anxiously the news from the wine blogosphere as vineyard owners in other parts of the state began picking and reporting on what was coming off of their vines.  I dressed quickly, not caring much what I looked like, as I was about to go trudge around in the vineyard mud, and grabbed my camera.  Let the day begin, I thought.

As the Autumn sun rose slowly over the Sonoma Mountains, it illuminated, seemingly from within, the layer of coastal fog resting along the sloping hillsides of the Westerhold Family Vineyard.*

The Westerhold Family

Yours truly at the Westerhold Family Vineyard

Not the greatest light for photographs, I thought, but I’d make do.  Though muted somewhat by the gray mist, the colors of the vines began to appear – the vibrant orange and lemon yellow leaves protecting the inky, the almost black Syrah grapes as they spent their last moments on the vine….

the knotted acorn-colored vines stretching out before me until they disappeared down the hill, the giant oak trees in the distance mere shadows still hidden by the fog.

With this first light, the vineyard workers began to pick, moving with ruthless efficiency as they filled tub after tub with ripe black fruit.

John Westerhold, the vineyard owner, and Russel Bevan (of Bevan Cellars), the winemaker, looked on, examining the fruit as it came in, tasting the occasional berry.  Russell turned to me and asked if I brought any shorts.  Shorts?  Early November in Sonoma isn’t exactly beach weather, mind you, so I was a bit stumped by the question.  “Well,” he asked, “don’t you want to stomp?”  Stomp!?!?  “Are you kidding?” I asked.  “OF COURSE I want to stomp!!!”  I ran back up the hill to the house and grabbed my pajama shorts, though if I hadn’t brought any I probably would have just run around in my underwear.  I was that excited.  I ran back outside to get a few last shots…

And before I knew it, and before the fog had burned off, the workers had cleared all of the grapes from the vines, and we were off to the winery, a local community crush and winemaking facility about 20 minutes away.

We arrived at the winery, a warehouse-like facility in Santa Rosa, and John showed me around.  We first walked into the crush room filled with giant conveyor belts, presses, and stainless steel tanks, and that damn forklift in whose way I kept getting.  (Sorry!)

Off the main room was a kitchen and a small laboratory with devices for measuring Ph levels and whatnot (lots of chemistry involved in winemaking, mind you).

As we walked into the next room, which was climate-controlled (read: chilly) and filled with more of those giant white tubs filled with grapes and their juice going through the first stage of fermentation, I was again struck by the fantastic smells found in a working winery.  That smell, though like nothing else I can think of, is the actual smell of yeast breaking down sugar into alcohol.  Fantastic.  I stopped and chatted with a winery worker who was pushing the solids down into the juices of one of the tubs in order to keep them wet and taking various measurements in the process (more chemistry….).

Passing through this room, we moved next into the barrel room, also climate-controlled (read: also chilly) and lined with rows and rows of oak barrel racks, the barrels filled with aging wine that will eventually work its way into bottles.  So beautiful.

This visit, of course, wasn’t just about getting a tour.  It was about the Westerhold Syrah, so we worked our way back to the first room, where the preparation was already underway for the next step of the process – the crush. Giant conveyor belts were moved into place, tools and tubs sterilized, and, last but not least, playlist selected and beer put on dry ice to chill.  Priorities, people.

We were the first team to arrive at the winery that morning, so as soon as the grapes were weighed and the machinery moved into place, my feet were cleaned….

and I hopped into a giant white plastic tub, ready to do some stomping.  The first round of grapes was dumped into a metal box of sorts,** from which the grape clusters were steadily raked onto the first conveyor belt…

and up into another metal contraption that separated the berries from the stems, shooting the berries onto a second conveyor belt where a row of people picked out any remaining stems, bugs or moldy berries before the grapes fell off the end of the conveyor and into my white tub.  It was there where, for the next several hours, I stomped away, my feet turning an interesting shade of fuschia.

I was having the time of my life.  And yes, aside from the fact that I didn’t fall down in the grapes, I was totally like Lucy.

With the Westerhold Syrah initial crush now finished (the wine was to spend a period of time in contact with the skins before going through a machine crush process that would separate the skins from the juice), we ordered some lunch and sat down to a vertical tasting of the 2007 and 2008 Westerhold Syrah so that John and Russell could prepare some tasting notes.

The 2007 vintage, with its ripe yet balanced fruit and perfectly round tannins, recently won the Hospice du Rhone Syrah Shootout, and although the 2008 needs a bit more time in the bottle, it has serious potential as well.  And while we were at it, Russell busted out a bottle of his 2006 Bevan Cellars Hanna’s Syrah (made from the Westerhold grapes, this was the biggest, chewiest wine of the day – delicious but no shrinking violet, to be sure).

Then, as if that weren’t enough, we also did some barrel tasting from the Westerhold 2009 vintage, which will be bottled early next year.

Though my day at the winery could easily have been over at this point, Russell asked if I wanted to stick around to see the barreling process.  Um, yes please!  Jim Cowan, another local winemaker (Cowan Cellars), showed me how to control the spigot on the hose connected to the stainless steel tank holding Russel’s 2010 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, and we let loose on the first several of Russell’s French oak barrels.

Here’s where I wish that the technology existed to capture and share a smell because the aroma coming out of the hole in the top of that first barrel as that lightly fermented juice hit that new French oak for the first time was like nothing I have ever experienced.  Indeed, I don’t even know how to describe except to say that it is, quite possibly, my new favorite smell.

As the majority of the naturally pressed juice in the tank dwindled, it was time for Russell to hop in the tank and shovel out the remaining solids.  Though fun, this step in the process is actually somewhat dangerous, as the carbon dioxide levels in those tanks from the fermentation process are quite high and can potentially cause the person doing the shoveling to pass out.  Russell didn’t waste any time getting in, though…

and he had that tank shoveled out and cleaned in no time.

The solids he shoveled out, of course, still had some juice in them, so they were sent to a giant press, where the remaining liquid was extracted, and the final barrels filled.

Jim and I tasted the free run juice that came straight out of the tank as well as the pressed juice, and the difference in sugar levels was remarkable (the pressed juice having more sugar).  I can’t wait to taste the final blend.

With our work done and the next winemaker (Kosta Browne’s Jemrose project) already taking over the workspace we had previously occupied, we left the winery and headed back to the Westerhold’s home.  I was so happy and grateful to have been able to participate in the day’s activities that I offered to make a harvest dinner for the Westerholds, Russell and his girlfriend and partner, and the Cowans.***  I decided on Roast Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Root Vegetables, along with, of course, a ridiculous amount of wine supplied by the various attendees.  The perfect end to a fantastic day….

They say you always remember your first love.  Love aside, I will always remember my first crush.

Cheers!

* As I’ve mentioned previously, in my other life I work with Sharon Westerhold (nee Bauman).

** Please forgive my lack of technical vocabulary here.  Because I was so busy actually helping, I wasn’t able to act the part of the journalist and take proper notes about the names of the various items of machinery.

*** I didn’t manage to take photos of the dinner, as I was a bit busy in the kitchen.