Mid-Harvest 2013

It rained yesterday - just one day, just enough to freak out all of the grapegrowers. It should be a good year for late-harvest botrytized wine - if you need to look at the bright side.
The smell of first season wet earth was sweet and succulent - something I wish we could bottle so that we could demonstrate it as a wine descriptor accurately. It's not moldy or earthy or musty. It's fresh in it's own sweet way, something you just have to experience to know.

Today was going to be a mellow Sunday. Especially after a week of hurried activity of winemaking and wine sales. I woke without an alarm and began to prepare a wonderful Sunday breakfast of chantrelle, comte, chive and tarragon omelettes with fresh strawberries and cinnamon buns. My plan was to have our morning meal, then dive into garden duties to gather what had not burst from the rains.
A couple of hours earlier my husband had said, "come up and get me for breakfast." So, I went to get him but fate had conspired to bring extra grapes along with a shortage of staff. "Bring it up here!" - he requested while bustling about.
Ah, but his earl grey tea was cooling and well .... we obviously wouldn't be enjoying the morning paper together.

At that moment our dining room chairs that we ordered months ago arrived in a big semi-truck at the same time another grape truck rolled up into the winery driveway. Turning the stove off, I dashed outside to help unload our chairs. Moments after getting them settled and inspected next to the house, Rick rattled into the house and I made him sit down and eat for 5 minutes before  he was off and running again. Just after I finished my breakfast, the phone rang. "I really need you to help me right now - we are buried and Robin won't be in till 12:30, pleeaaasssse!"
Sigh .... I change shirts, pull my messy hair back and put on some jewelry, then head to the tasting room to greet the public. No shower in the near future.

Moments after Robin arrives, I'm back in my sweats and into the garden picking tomatoes, then hauling in 40  pounds of butternut squash. I gather the padron peppers that are ready and lop off a couple of purple cauliflower heads. After that, the recycling bins are emptied, a load of laundry started, the kitchen cleaned, the mudroom swept and the dining room chairs swapped out.

Eek! I've only got one and a half hours to shower, go shopping for our BBQ stuff that we need for this afternoon, caramelize the onions, prep the burgers and pack for our outing. What the hell happened to the day!

Run, run, run ...... eventually our 4:00pm rendezvous with friends turns into a 5:30 venture into the wilderness for some relaxation. Why? Why do we even make an attempt to plan anything during harvest? I say this every year, multiple times. "Oh, it's a mellow day, not much fruit coming, no problem."  HA!! It always changes and always takes two hours more than anyone expects - and it is inevitable and uncontrollable, so why plan anything? Just wait till November, make it easy.

The owl has begun hooting outside in the redwood now and I think it's my time to end this rant and go listen to the beauty of the tranquil night.