Harvest is Here...

...Or at least for a little bit. 

{In the cellar. I was doing 

SO2 additions there today}

Believe it or not, I am back in Napa and have returned to work! Picture this, I was in San Diego just this past Friday when I was enjoying a relaxed brunch in La Jolla with my family after a nice walk along the cove when I get a call from work:

"Hey Brooke, just calling to let you know that we have a few grape orders coming in next week, so we're going to need you to return to the winery on Monday at 6AM...looking forward to seeing you then..."

Haha, so after receiving the late notice about harvest, I practically began inhaling the rest of my poached eggs and veggies + hash browns at brunch (The Veggie Hash from Cody's--super yummy, by the way)  and rushed home to look up the next flight I could catch to fly back up to Napa. That's the life of a harvest worker! 

Yes, harvest is here...or at least for the next couple days. Today was my first day back at the winery. Domaine Chandon's first shipments of grapes were delivered to the winery this morning. I like to think of today as almost a mock-trial of the actual Harvest. It was a sort of hands-on training. And even though we dealt with about 100 tons of grapes today, that's nearly nothing compared to the average daily amount once things come into full swing. Apparently there's a lot more action during the peak season. I'm keeping very busy during work, already surprising myself with the immense amount of things I've learned.

 

{Chardonnay from just one of the many

tons of crates we received today}

 

{Grapes are transferred to this de-stemmer/crusher 

where the stems are removed}

 {Tanks ready to be filled with today's juice}

Word is that I most likely have no work Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. (I suppose it depends on the grapes!) If I have the time off, I'll most likely be spending time exploring Napa. If you have any recommendations (food, shopping, or otherwise), I’d be much appreciative of any tips!

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