CRUSH FITNESS

I had no idea how physically strenuous this Crush experience would be.  It has been so fun to physically work.  I stay pretty active on the ranch, and when I do go to work, I'm in a totally different mental capacity, Its more about visiting with people and sharing with them information about the wine.  While it is lots of fun, there is something to be said about doing something that is challenging to your body, at the end of the day you feel not only tired, but accomplished.  Then Sherman says, "lets have a team beer!"...and thats when you feel really accomplished!

Had some fun with this video, I hope you have the same sense of humor!!

Controlled Chaos

This weekend was Harvest Festival in Paso Robles, California.  It is our busiest weekend of the year, and it is also my anniversary with the Thachers!  I gave them a sappy anniversary card, you know the type with a little old couple on the front.  I take it seriously, I have worked for them for two years...this is big, this is the most committed relationship I have ever had!  It all began two years ago this weekend!  I met Michelle when I was asked to babysit her daughters one day while Michelle opened the tasting room (I think this is the last time I was asked to babysit...hmmm I think they think I am better behind the bar??).  Michelle was nine months pregnant with their son, and was going to need some help in the tasting room, especially during Harvest Festival weekend.  Jan Simpson, of Whalebone Winery, suggested that she call me to help.  

At that point, I didn't know anything about wine!  Michelle met me in the tasting room and told me a little about their wines and I tasted through.  She said it was going to be really busy but she and Sherman would be there to help if I had any questions....

Well, she called at 6pm the night before, and said, "Katie, this baby is coming, we're headed to the hospital, and you're on your own tomorrow!"  And so, my roommate Heather, a couple of the Thacher's friends and I, did our best!  I find that people are generally pretty happy if they have wine in their glass, so that was the main objective and we figured everything else out!  

I think it was just my initiation into Thacher Winery!  It was a little crazy, or as we like to say, "Controlled Chaos!"

It was the first few months of being open, which served as muse for the name "Controlled Chaos," the first Thacher Winery blend!  The blend is very Californian, and has been a big hit.  42% Zinfandel, 37% Mourvedre, and 21% Grenache.  A double gold medalist at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, and just mentioned as an "Outstanding California Red," by the Wine Spectator (who also gave it a 90), Controlled Chaos has taken the world by storm!  

It was chaos, those first few months, and how much control...well that is debatable! Construction on the winery was completed in August of 2008, and up until then, Sherman was a bit of a desperado winemaker, shuffling around renting space from other wineries.  Once he had his own space, it was really nice for him to spread out, and so he took on more fruit than he had in the past.  While Sherman was busy in the winery, Michelle was planning the grand opening of the tasting room (Labor Day weekend), and taking care of their two girls, who were then 5 and 2!  So needless to say, they had their hands full!  

It only got crazier when Cody was born on Harvest Festival weekend, and of course that was my first weekend as well!  Somehow we all held it together, and as Michelle always does, she made it look graceful! 

It has been a fast two years, so exciting and so much fun!

Now hopefully, when you crack open a bottle of our Controlled Chaos, you will know the true story behind the name!

Feel Like Makin' Wine

Mastering the art of picking stems....

Hi Steve! 

Thanks for being the only one to follow My First Crush!  I know that I have many loyal friends and fans out there that are reading my every word, but Steve is the only one who is brave enough to vouch for me! PS - Steve is the coolest guy, he has a really beautiful and funny wife who is always quick to cut up with me in the tasting room and trade earrings... you know usual tasting room stuff!  So thanks for your support...

(friends...this is your cue to make our friendship public...go on...)

Crush is moving right along!  Since my last post, we have processed 8 more tons of Zinfandel!  On Thursday we had 4 tons from Bailey Ranch and yesterday 4 tons from Wills Hills.  These are two awesome Westside vineyards (by Westside, I mean West of Paso Robles) (Here in wine country, we pay attention to what side of the tracks the fruit comes from.  You know, a little Westside Eastside business goin on... We don't have any gang signs yet, but I'm sure it's not far off... lets just say you wouldn't want to catch an Eastsider on the Westside after dark...) (Now on my third parenthesis, please excuse the punctuation err, but I was just kidding, Eastsiders and Westsiders comingle quite pleasantly, for the record). 

The topography is very vast in our region, and many microclimates exist, this is one reason why fruit varies so much.  For example, the Bailey Ranch fruit was rather large in berry size and not as raisinated as the Will's Hills Zinfandel.  Variance in fruit can be for many reasons other than just vineyard location, topography, climate, weather, farming technique, but also dependent upon varietal clones.  The big berries of the Bailey Ranch Zin seemed to pop inside of the destemer whereas the smaller berries of the Will's Hills popped right through, with little run of juice.  Due to the crazy weather this year (113 degrees last Monday, and 54 degrees and pouring rain tonight) there certainly has been a flux in fruit.  The Will's Hills was pretty raisinated, meaning many of the berries were shriveled up like raisins.  These berries look and taste like raisins, but will hopefully rehydrate during fermentation.  

Our fruit is handpicked and placed in large plastic "picking bins" which hold aprox 1,000lbs each.  Once it arrives at the winery, it is weighed to get a total tonnage amount.  It is then placed in the barrel room where it can be kept cool.  Bin by bin, Sherman brings each out and lifts it with his sheer strength (forklift) into the destemer.  This process is the most time consuming.  The clusters move through an auger which pushes them into a giant stainless tube with lots of nickel sized holes, running through the tube is set of paddles that spiral similar to a DNA strand.  The paddles pop the berries off of the stem which is discarded meanwhile the berries bounce onto a vibrating sorting table.  This is where I come in! I am the master of the sorting table! I stand on one side and make sure the berries move evenly across the table to allow for seeds to fall through, and I also pick any stems that have managed to escape the wrath of the destemer.  The berries bounce their way down the table to a clean picking bin, and eventually into a large bin called a "fermenter ."  

I am working on a short video of all of this...please look for it soon!

Tomorrow, if the rain lets up we will have 4 more tons, this time Syrah!

Cheers,

Katie