Vintage 2009 Central Otago

Since leaving Queenstown more than a month has passed and yes I am still in New Zealand. A big apology to anyone who kept checking back in over the past weeks to see if I had managed to find the motivation to write a new post. Well, finally I have. I am currently in the small Otago town of Cromwell. It is, however, the unofficial epicenter of New Zealand Pinot Noir and home to many of the top wineries in the country. I have been spending the largest portion of my days working at Rockburn Winery for over four weeks now and countless hours of processing.
When I tell people I work at a winery, most ask what that means. Do I tramp grapes with my bare feet? Not unless I am trying to force an extra 800lbs of grapes into a press with a capacity of two tons and I always wear my rubber boots. In fact, I usually reply that most winery work is cleaning. Not an entirely inaccurate statement, but hard to quantify. The last weeks here have certainly included lots of cleaning: presses, destemmers, elevators, fermentors, tanks, hoses, pumps, bins, and drains. Most of the heavy work is done with a forklift and that sure helps. But all of the above mentioned equipment was first used to process several different types and clones of grapes which are, as I write this, being transformed from simple sugary grape juice into fantastic wines. Winemaking is a fairly simple process, largely the same the world over, however, at the same time, it is never simple.
Currently, we are just about done, meaning we only have about 40 tons to go. We have already processed about 23o tons and the end is in sight. However, the fun doesnt stop there, after that there are punchdowns, racking, barreling, pressing, and yes, lots more cleaning. In fact 270 tns is a relatively small number and as the area goes we are a midsized winery. Compared to Oregon we are huge, compared to California we're tiny. I won't bore you with all the many processes of making wine, just know that during harvest we work 8 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week. And other wineries work more. It is fun work,( sugar covered, cracked hands, caustic burned, wet feet sort of work). But come on, you're making wine, whats not to like about it? Anyway, I still have a few more weeks in this fantastic country working at a great winery, and then I will be home to tell everyone about it. And if your lucky I will still have a bottle or two of Central Otago Pinot Noir to open.