It seems this blog is transforming from "running on wine" to "not running, but a lot of wine".
We find ourselves staring straight into the face of Crush. Crush starts with the vineyards being harvested. Different grapes ripen at different times so this will happen in waves over the next 2 months. Once we have the grapes at the winery, we have to crush them, separate them from the stem (for whites, press the juice off) and start fermentation. Once they are fermenting in separate vats, the reds need 4 daily punch downs in which Jess and Chris use paddles to push the grape skin cap down into the juice for better extraction. The wines need constant monitoring and testing to guild them through fermentation in the slow, gentle manner we like. Then we press the reds. Pressing is a big job when you use 2 side by side traditional basket presses with hand hydraulics. This all happens (from picking to pressing) when the grapes are ready so we suddenly become "on call" during the 2 months of Crush. The grapes need to be dealt with immediately so that might mean working late into the night or at the break of day...or both.
This also means my sister-in-law Lili and I pick up the slack, a lot of slack, both at the winery and around the house. When Crush is over, all of us are exhausted.
So when the hell do you run?!
Distractions have already pulled Jess from training. Having just returned from Los Angeles CA, Jess found that his excitement for surfing outwayed the want to run and so skipped a week of running; a stresser for him as we hit Crush. I have been on the path of self destruction pretty much since I ran the Napa Valley Marathon this spring and have only haphazardly run. I think it is safe to say I am no longer training for anything. Chris, with 2 kids in toe and Lili's family visiting from Mexico has left him with an acceptance of not running until next year! This isn't looking good for any of us. So with Crush being physically exhausting and extremely time consuming, there is very little time for family much less a 2-5 hour long run during this time. Yet Jess is trying to train for a 50+ mile race, I simply would rather not start at the walk/ run training all over again and Chris? Chris is probably running in his dreams, so that might be enough training for him to wake up one day and run a marathon. Bastard.
What is interesting is that, Liliana is working out at home, my parents ran every day while they were in CA on vacation and several other friends that were "inspired" by this blog are now running races! I have no idea how my complaining has inspired anyone, but cheers to all of you!
What we do seem to be doing instead of running is consuming large amounts of wine! Is it the busy season that kicks us into high stress modes, juggling working on the road, working at night, going on vacation...the new vintages that just taste so damn good? Any way you size it up, the wine is winning over the running...for now.
-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com
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