Bottle Party

In the first week of October, 2010, on a small plot of land in Northern California, 144 pounds of pinot noir grapes were picked from their vines and loaded into 4 plastic lugs to be stacked and loaded into a refrigerated truck for their long passage to the east.  Yesterday, almost 15 months later, the journey of those grapes came to an end, in the bottling of my 2010 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. 

Winemakers like to turn every occasion that requires significant amounts of manual labor as an excuse to invite their friends over for a “party,” and last night’s bottling was no exception.  Two generations of three families accomplished the task in just over an hour, allowing for plenty of time to enjoy the remnants literally strained from the bottom of the barrel. 

Drew and Hal on the new
corking machine.

This is my first pinot noir made 100% at the home winery, and it’s already drawing favorable reviews to the 2009 release, which to date had been the star performer in the cellar.  I’ve often read that one of the biggest flaws of homemade wine is that it’s simply served before it’s ready, and to prove the point, if you go to your local wine shop this evening you’ll struggle to find many 2010 red wine releases to choose from.  Nonetheless, with a 35 bottle production and 35 days left in the year, the symmetry may be difficult to resist.

  

Good to the very last drop.

Reynaldo and Me

In 1968, at the age of 16, Reynaldo Robledo came to the United State as a Mexican migrant farm worker earning $1.10 per hour.  After years of toiling in the vineyards, Reynaldo ultimately saved enough money to become a vineyard land owner himself, and now owns and operates Robledo Family Winery in Sonoma, California, where each of his nine children work for the family business. 

Soaking bottles.

My thoughts turned to Reynaldo recently as I completed the tedious task of washing, scraping, rinsing and drying the 38 bottles I needed to release my 2010 Russian River Pinot Noir in the coming weeks.  In sorting through the cases of empty bottles I’ve saved, it was no surprise to find almost three cases of Robledo on hand, making the task of aggregating a matching set for my own bottling much easier.  As the bottles lay soaking in my 44 gallon tub, I was reminded that his label was perhaps as influential as any in the design of my own, and his Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the standard to which I aspire. 

Drying bottles.

I haven’t met Reynaldo, but I’ve met and spoken to several of his children in my visits and calls to the winery.  The tasting room and winery are on the residence estate and there’s always a family member there to greet you. While our life journeys are obviously quite different, I’d like to think our destinations might meet in the end.  Where your work is your passion, where you enjoy the fruits of your labor, and where you marvel at your own realization of the American Dream.