Well, crush is finally over, and it’s time we started up on the blog again and let you know what’s going on over here at Dacalier.  
Every harvest has its share of interesting moments.  This year was no different.  After working 12 hour days, 7 days a week for a couple of months, let’s just say your mind starts to look at things differently at times.  Typically you’ll see folks hosing down the floors, blasting a single grape skin all around the cellar, never quite getting it down the drain.  It’s like watching somebody vacuum over the same piece of lint over and over again, getting frustrated and mesmerized at the same time. The merciful thing to do is to walk over and pick up the skin, then go home for some sleep.

Eric

P.S.  Dave and I have promised not to let you go so long without a blog entry, so you can read more about whats going on at Dacalier for 2010.

This is the time of year where it seems I’ve run out of time, and have too many things to do. For me this is the juxtaposition of running around doing sales, checking in on the vineyards and starting to get ready for crush.

Today I am off for a week to Hawaii to work a trade show out there. It’s going to be a great time; there are lots of tasting events, for both the public and trade. And, of course, enough down time to hit a beach or two.

I checked the vineyards just last week, all of them are looking good. We are on the verge of verasion, the point where the grapes start to turn color. By the time I’m back I am sure we will be 50% through veraison, which means I need to start getting the winery ready.

Lastly, we have a saying in the wine business: “crush snuck up on us again!” No matter how prepared you are getting the winery ready for all the fruit, it always seems we forgot something, or pushed something back until the final days. All of the industry suppliers are used to it by now, the frantic “can I get this widget tomorrow?” phone calls are quite expected at this time.

But right now, it’s the transition from sales to production that’s the interesting transition for me. Going from the finished, in the bottle, wine to the let’s look at the fruit and see what this vintage will bring. It keeps me on my toes!

Don’t forget about our BBQ next Saturday August 15th form 11-3.  Until next time,

Cheers,
eric