Tuesday, March 29, 2011
My last week
My future boss in New Zealand, Gerhard, said that if I brought him a decent bottle of South African brandy, then he'd trade me for a New Zealand Pinot. I promised him I'd stop at the distillery in Robertson on my way out of town. He gave me instructions on public transportation to Carterton, the town near the winery and I remembered how pleasant public transport is in that country. A bus leaves every fifteen minutes from Wellington airport which will take me to the train station in thirty minutes which is plenty of time to catch my train north. The train even stops in Carterton, a town of 4,200 people. For the weekend, we moved into the big house one last time and went to Marinus' house for an indoor braai. They are so crazy about their wood-fired barbecues that they build a fire pit inside. And yet they are too lazy to make a cup of real coffee. Baffling...Anyway, Celeste's brother and his wife were there to say goodbye before they moved to Botswana the next week. Marinus kept us up late complaining about the vineyards here and drinking Scotch. We went into Worcester to go to the mall in the back of Marinus' small pick up. We made a lot of friends waving at us through town. One car even pulled up along side us and yelled something in Afrikaans. I did some research on the Garden Route and weighed my options for what to do after New Zealand because they require that I have a flight booked out of the country before my visa would expire. Fiji sounded like a good time to me, so I'll probably get a flight before I leave South Africa. Lorena made more bread, and some brownies using the owner's ingredients. That was the good part about staying in the big house. On Monday, we cleaned and got ready to press, but Alfred came by after work and told us we were harvesting instead because it was supposed to rain on Wednesday. Marinus invited us to another braai to celebrate the end of harvest.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Moving on
On Tuesday, we pressed the Cabernet and Marinus gave Lorena and me two pounds of expired wine yeast to bake more bread. And we baked bread with garlic in it both last night and tonight. Yes, we have a lot of time on our hands. We labelled bottles at work and Marinus invited us to his house Friday for a barbecue.
I called the winemaker at Gladstone Vineyards in New Zealand on Skype before work and he wanted me to work for him whenever I could get there! I was very happy and flattered that he said I was at the top of his list of applicants. The winery is located on the north island about one hour and 15 minutes from the capital, Wellington. There will be lots of hand punch downs which are good for muscle-building. I will live in a loft above the barrel room, there are winery cars I can take into town 10 minutes away, and communal dinners are common. Marinus said we'd be done April first, so I should have time to travel the Garden Route. I booked a flight from Port Elizabeth (the end of the Garden Rout) to Wellington on April 7th, arriving April 9th. It will be over 36 hours travel time with the train to the winery. I'm very happy and excited to be going back to New Zealand. The waiting is the difficult part.
I called the winemaker at Gladstone Vineyards in New Zealand on Skype before work and he wanted me to work for him whenever I could get there! I was very happy and flattered that he said I was at the top of his list of applicants. The winery is located on the north island about one hour and 15 minutes from the capital, Wellington. There will be lots of hand punch downs which are good for muscle-building. I will live in a loft above the barrel room, there are winery cars I can take into town 10 minutes away, and communal dinners are common. Marinus said we'd be done April first, so I should have time to travel the Garden Route. I booked a flight from Port Elizabeth (the end of the Garden Rout) to Wellington on April 7th, arriving April 9th. It will be over 36 hours travel time with the train to the winery. I'm very happy and excited to be going back to New Zealand. The waiting is the difficult part.
Monday, March 21, 2011
The end is in sight!
Work was getting extremely boring. There was one whole day where we had nothing to do, so the next day Marinus sent us out to the vineyard to take some leaves off the vines to help ripen the Cabernet a bit faster. I enjoyed it because it was something new and kept me busy. I just wish they'd grow vines six feet tall so I wouldn't have to bend down so far! We saw 3-day-old pigs out behind the vineyard, but a few days later they were dirty and not as cute.
Alfred came over a few times during the week, and we collected leftover wine yeast for an experiment. We baked a loaf of bread and made pizza dough with it. It worked perfectly, so the next time we inoculate a tank, we will take the scraps from the packages of yeast again to do some more baking.
It was a holiday weekend, so the guest houses were full, the bistro was busy, and the wedding of 170 people was fun. Lorena and I met a few of the guests in the afternoon, then crashed the after party by the pool at night. I met some nice people. One had worked in Sonoma for a harvest, but I also met an idiot DJ who wouldn't shut up. I had fun though because I got to talk to new people and eat their food. As we walked home at 3:30am, the boss' house still had loud music playing.
We made it to the 8am pump over and enjoyed our usual Sunday lunch. In town we looked at a 19th century-style house they call a museum. That's about as much fun as Robertson offers. But even the fried chicken from the supermarket is delicious, so it has that going for it.
This week, we harvested Petit Verdot, leaving only two blocks of Cab out. We will press tomorrow and maybe harvest Cab later this week.
I've been applying to harvest jobs in New Zealand. I had one job offer, but couldn't make it there soon enough, and now I'm talking to another winery in the same region, so we'll see.
Alfred came over a few times during the week, and we collected leftover wine yeast for an experiment. We baked a loaf of bread and made pizza dough with it. It worked perfectly, so the next time we inoculate a tank, we will take the scraps from the packages of yeast again to do some more baking.
It was a holiday weekend, so the guest houses were full, the bistro was busy, and the wedding of 170 people was fun. Lorena and I met a few of the guests in the afternoon, then crashed the after party by the pool at night. I met some nice people. One had worked in Sonoma for a harvest, but I also met an idiot DJ who wouldn't shut up. I had fun though because I got to talk to new people and eat their food. As we walked home at 3:30am, the boss' house still had loud music playing.
We made it to the 8am pump over and enjoyed our usual Sunday lunch. In town we looked at a 19th century-style house they call a museum. That's about as much fun as Robertson offers. But even the fried chicken from the supermarket is delicious, so it has that going for it.
This week, we harvested Petit Verdot, leaving only two blocks of Cab out. We will press tomorrow and maybe harvest Cab later this week.
I've been applying to harvest jobs in New Zealand. I had one job offer, but couldn't make it there soon enough, and now I'm talking to another winery in the same region, so we'll see.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Some days at the winery we keep busy pressing or harvesting, but one day Marinus told us, "You must find something to do today," so we cleaned all the floors and hand-labeled bottles. Alfred comes over to our house most nights for dinner or just to fend off boredom. On the weekend, the three of us went wine and cheese tasting. There was nothing spectacular, but the valley was much greener and prettier toward the southeast. Then we went into Robertson for a delicious lunch of chicken and chips. What made it special is that it wasn't made by white people and we ate it while sitting on the curb of the street. We decided we needed to go to the restaurant across the street called Zebro's because it had loud colors, just like tacquerias and it was very crowded.
We had a braai (BBQ) and Alfred made a traditional African dish made with maize flour which was something between mashed potatoes and dumplings. He definitely enjoyed it with the Mexican hot sauce Tapatio.
One block of Cabernet was harvested and the Petit Verdot will come in later this week.
We had a braai (BBQ) and Alfred made a traditional African dish made with maize flour which was something between mashed potatoes and dumplings. He definitely enjoyed it with the Mexican hot sauce Tapatio.
One block of Cabernet was harvested and the Petit Verdot will come in later this week.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
A Friendly Weekend
I spent two nights in the big house because there was a wedding, which was nice because the pool was nearby and Top Gear was on. On Saturday, I went into Worcester with Lorena and Alfred. We had Marinus and his daughter over for dinner. He gave Cel-Marie some beer and she was rolling in the grass and unusually friendly then fell asleep before the food was ready. I made guacamole burgers and fries to pair with Lorena's Spanish Tinto wine. It had heavy tannins, liquorice and tobacco flavors which worked with the food.
Just when we were about to eat the big Sunday lunch, my friend Evren showed up and she was very jealous of the food. I lived and worked with her in New Zealand and saw her once in California. She manages a small winery in Turkey, which paid for her trip to work for three weeks in Stellenbosch. I showed her around the cellar and she was shocked by how old and inefficient everything is. We had Alfred over for a BBQ's ostrich steaks, bell peppers and corn on the cob. We heard a lot about Turkey, specifically the wine. Her winery is new and produces a small amount of expensive wine.
Marinus was nice enough to give me Monday off to go wine tasting with Evren. I showed her the harvesting machine, then off to more wineries. A couple of places were nothing special and a couple were good. Excelsior had very affordable, drinkable wine and their Cabernet is in the US in pretty big quantities. But De Wetshof had the best two wines I've tried here and one of the best I've ever tasted. It is an old estate with huge white manor houses which Marinus said look like the White House. Unfortunately the woman serving us was rude. She would pour the wines, then go sit at her desk at her computer as if we weren't there. The Pinot Noir was perfect. Excellent balance, nothing too strong, subtle fruit and earthiness with decent acid. On the tasting menu they had Noble Late Harvest from 2005, 1998, and 1991. The woman said they only pour it if they already have a bottle open, and as luck would have it they did! It was US$40 per 500ml bottle, but I was tempted (how about a '91 for US$90?). It was golden in color with perfect balance of honey, apple, complextiy, and sweetness with a soft texture. Honestly one of the best wines I've ever tasted.
Evren bought a "Life from Stone" Sauvingnon Blanc from Sprinfield Winery. I went there with Lorena and the Sauvignon Blanc stood out because one Suav Blanc tasted normal and the other tasted like minerals because it was planted on a field of 70% quartz crystals. Evren planned ahead and only filled her suitcase halfway so she could take 10-15 bottles of wine home.
It was fun to catch up with Evren and hear about Turkey, New Zealand and California. She said there probably wouldn't be a problem if I wanted to work for her in Turkey next harvest! That sounded hard to pass up. It might make me the only applicant in the US with that on my resume.
Lorena and I did some research for renting a car and driving the Garden Route to the Southeast.
Just when we were about to eat the big Sunday lunch, my friend Evren showed up and she was very jealous of the food. I lived and worked with her in New Zealand and saw her once in California. She manages a small winery in Turkey, which paid for her trip to work for three weeks in Stellenbosch. I showed her around the cellar and she was shocked by how old and inefficient everything is. We had Alfred over for a BBQ's ostrich steaks, bell peppers and corn on the cob. We heard a lot about Turkey, specifically the wine. Her winery is new and produces a small amount of expensive wine.
Marinus was nice enough to give me Monday off to go wine tasting with Evren. I showed her the harvesting machine, then off to more wineries. A couple of places were nothing special and a couple were good. Excelsior had very affordable, drinkable wine and their Cabernet is in the US in pretty big quantities. But De Wetshof had the best two wines I've tried here and one of the best I've ever tasted. It is an old estate with huge white manor houses which Marinus said look like the White House. Unfortunately the woman serving us was rude. She would pour the wines, then go sit at her desk at her computer as if we weren't there. The Pinot Noir was perfect. Excellent balance, nothing too strong, subtle fruit and earthiness with decent acid. On the tasting menu they had Noble Late Harvest from 2005, 1998, and 1991. The woman said they only pour it if they already have a bottle open, and as luck would have it they did! It was US$40 per 500ml bottle, but I was tempted (how about a '91 for US$90?). It was golden in color with perfect balance of honey, apple, complextiy, and sweetness with a soft texture. Honestly one of the best wines I've ever tasted.
Evren bought a "Life from Stone" Sauvingnon Blanc from Sprinfield Winery. I went there with Lorena and the Sauvignon Blanc stood out because one Suav Blanc tasted normal and the other tasted like minerals because it was planted on a field of 70% quartz crystals. Evren planned ahead and only filled her suitcase halfway so she could take 10-15 bottles of wine home.
It was fun to catch up with Evren and hear about Turkey, New Zealand and California. She said there probably wouldn't be a problem if I wanted to work for her in Turkey next harvest! That sounded hard to pass up. It might make me the only applicant in the US with that on my resume.
Lorena and I did some research for renting a car and driving the Garden Route to the Southeast.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Anyone tired of wine yet?
Last weekend, I got out to a couple of wineries that weren't too good, but it was nice to get off of the farm for a while. Lunch at the bistro was for a special event so it was filled with tourists and the food was extra good. To top off all the delicious fresh bread, meats, fruit and vegetables the brownies and cheesecake really hit the spot.
At work we took samples from the remaining vineyards. The Shiraz was the closest at 23.6 brix, then the Petit Verdot at 21 and Cab at 20 and 19, so it might be a little while before the last rush for the Bordeaux varietals. We pressed Pinotage and harvested the Shiraz which came in at 27 brix and dry, so an illegal water add was necessary (In South Africa the law states that wineries can't add sugar or water, but everybody does of course). One day was 105 degrees, so the pool felt perfect.
A Turkish friend who I worked and lived with in New Zealand contacted me because she is working in Stellenbosch and will be free next week, so I invited her to come see the winery on Sunday. I saw her briefly when she worked in Sonoma, and it will be good see her again and remember the good times in New Zealand.
At work we took samples from the remaining vineyards. The Shiraz was the closest at 23.6 brix, then the Petit Verdot at 21 and Cab at 20 and 19, so it might be a little while before the last rush for the Bordeaux varietals. We pressed Pinotage and harvested the Shiraz which came in at 27 brix and dry, so an illegal water add was necessary (In South Africa the law states that wineries can't add sugar or water, but everybody does of course). One day was 105 degrees, so the pool felt perfect.
A Turkish friend who I worked and lived with in New Zealand contacted me because she is working in Stellenbosch and will be free next week, so I invited her to come see the winery on Sunday. I saw her briefly when she worked in Sonoma, and it will be good see her again and remember the good times in New Zealand.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)