We’re in the second week of harvest over here. You should see it at the winery, it's like a great ballet of forklifts zooming around unloading fruit, the press churning out its luscious juice, the crew doing punch downs and pump overs to whatever their chosen soundtrack of the day is. It’s “gorgeous chaos” as one friend of mine likes to say.

 

But at dinnertime it all comes to a halt. They’re hungry and I’m ready for them! 

Our schedule is pretty full this week – on two different days we have both a videographer and photographer coming to capture the scene, an old friend from the east coast is dropping in to say hi and spend the night with us, the next day a handful of my girlfriends from Portland are coming down to go wine tasting and get a peek at the winemaking going on. On Friday, we’ll be adding an extra leaf to the table to include them. 

Saturday the first of our three harvest “guest interns” shows up. These are folks who live in other parts of the country and sell our wine in one way or another – restaurant, distributor, etc. As part of their ongoing wine education they’ve each asked if they could come out for a week or two and get in on the action. A resounding “yes” to that – at this time of year we can certainly use a little extra help. If they’re not afraid of hard work and getting wet, they’re in. 

 

Oh, there’s also a couple of “Back To School” nights for our kids, a Cross Country race I need to catch to cheer on our son, and all of the other tasks that warrant our attention. 

So yeah, we’re doing just fine over here. The sun is shining, we’re working hard and our bellies our full. 

 

Pretty soon it will be time to roll out my “Epic” meatloaf for the crew – it’s definitely the most anticipated dinner of the season. The recipe is right here, and you can make it anytime. It’s a great match with our Big Fire Pinot Noir, the one that Sunset Magazine just gave some love to (see below).

 

I’ll check in again next week and let you know how it’s all going. Meanwhile watch for photos on Instagram (here and here) and Facebook!

 

Cheers!

We are featuring a different wine each week during harvest. The special pricing on each wine will only last 2 days, so use this time to stock up on your favorites.