The Cleanse

It’s dormant season in the vineyard and winery.  The 2011 vintages are quietly aging in the basement, while my vines calmly hibernate during the cold winter season, a well-earned respite until pruning begins in March.  It’s the time of year that wealthy estate owners travel the world, meeting up with their fellow winemakers on their yachts in the Riviera, swapping stores of the harvest season just past and sharing star vintages from their award-winning library.  I imagine.

For the home winemaker, however, it is a much less glamorous time, so what better way to combat the cold weather blues than a 21-day cleanse?  What’s that you say?  What’s a 21-day cleanse and how long does it last?

Well, the particular cleanse that Mrs. Dry Run and I are enduring is the brainchild of Dr. Alejandro Junger.  The idea is to eliminate certain items from your diet to improve your digestion, your well-being and your all around awesomeness.  And when I say eliminate certain items from your diet, what I really mean is all.  The hands-off list ranges from the logical – fatty foods, sugar – to the difficult – caffeine, dairy, carbs – to the downright offensive – alcohol.  Oh, and you’re only allowed one solid meal a day.  14 days in, I’ve now lost 10 pounds from a frame that could scarcely afford to lose it and have been forced to synch my pants up with a loose rope I found in the garage.   And did I mention I’m not allowed to drink wine?

Anyway, I can only assume I’m building character, and like my vines in the yard facing their long, barren season, I will come out stronger on the other side, ready for the next challenge my winemaking adventure may bring me, and preparing for the ultimate prize in the end – my winters in the Rivera with Rothschild and Mondavi. 

A New Year, A New Tool

The remains of my 2011 Corot Noir

They say what separates man from the animals are the tools we use.  That inflated notion was running through my mind this weekend as I used a pair of chopsticks to fish out oak cubes from a glass carboy, and a roll of paper towels to skim the bacteria off of my slowly deteriorating (and all but ruined) 2011 Corot Noir.  I have a lot of books about winemaking, and I can tell you that not one of them mentions anything about the use of chopsticks.  For a minute there I figured with a little duct tape and chewed up bubble gum I might actually be able to MacGyver this wine back to health. 

In the end though I couldn’t think of an effective use for the bubble gum, so instead I added four times the recommended dosage of sulfites in one last desperate attempt to save the batch.  The effects that additive would have on the taste of the wine is beside the point.

It’s been a little over a month now since the release of my 2010 Pinot Noir, and the timing was perfect.  What better gift to provide a neighbor or holiday party host than a homemade bottle of red from the Russian River Valley?  The feedback to date has been positive, mostly because folks keep the negative feedback to themselves, but the stand-out reaction was from our friends Jeff and Stephanie, who apparently turned the opening of a new release into an excuse to enjoy a romantic evening by the fire, and sent me this photo to prove it.  This, of course, confirms the other thing they always say:  Flattery will get you everywhere.