The Marathon of wine making is Crush. This is the time when we have grapes coming in from vineyards in the southern part of the state, our own private Estate vineyards need to be pruned, netted, harvested and then each varietal needs to be crushed, fermented, maintained, lab tested and aged. In order to make room for the new wines coming in, we need to bottle older wines! We do everything by hand so the bottling, corking and labeling is a lot of work. Mix in our regular duties of running a business and the day to day of distribution, sales, wine clubs and employees, we find ourselves in a scramble...of course we need to do it all with various events, festivals, trade shows and parties thrown in to boot! Now add to that...we have young children.
So you ask, how is the running coming along? What race do you have next? My answer is, I am in it! We literally have a constant freight train of work coming through for 3 months, after that it is more like a scenic touring train...manageable and pleasant. Jesse manages to run during this chaos, but has to do it at 4am! The rest of us try to wring out every last drop of sleep, it is rare and should be cherished.
Today we host our Annual Picking Party for the "Fire Vineyard". This event has gotten better and better each year. This will be the second year that we welcome Chef Ky Quintanilla of Lambert's Taos. Chef Ky is hands down the most incredible, inventive chef we know and his 4 course lunches on our patio are astonishing.
Bright and early, everyone starts picking grapes in the vineyard with the wine makers, which gives you the feeling of truly being a part of the magic you enjoy in the bottle. Think of it as the start of a race where you run as a sea of people, individual yet flowing through the street. Each cluster of grapes picked by your hand will be transformed into art in a bottle.
It is at lunch that you receive the lavish indulgence of that art. Wine generously pours, paired with each decadent course Chef Ky has created. Seated under the apple tress, you are welcomed into our home and our families. It is similar to how 1st time Marathoners find they are part of an inner circle of people that few get to see. We thank each new friend at the end of lunch and send them off with a bottle of last year's vintage of "Fire Vineyard" wine, a reminder of what they have helped make.
So you can see, the Marathon is under way, and while you may ask why we do it, it is no different than the reason why we run. Because we have to.
-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.vivacwinery.com
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