Release date (a fond farewell to Jordan)

 

 

Jordan's vineyards and the estate's main building

Today is my last full day at Jordan and what a day it was. The cellar was extremely busy: we pressed three overhead tanks of red wine, inoculated two newly filled red tanks with yeast, crushed several tons of cabernet sauvignon and riesling, inoculated three tanks of chenin blanc we pressed two days ago, and received and cleaned several new tanks as the tonnage we've been harvesting looks to be the largest on record and we've run out of tank space to put things in. And I was only there part of the day, as Gary, Kathy, and Sjaak let me have part of the day off to do wine tastings at several nearby wineries (more on this in future posts)

 

 The recycling bin outside the Jordan building. Enough said!

 

Although it's 11:30 pm and I'm completely exhausted after having woken up for pumpovers at 5:20 am for the past three weeks, I thought I should post one last time before I leave to summarise a bit. In essence, it's been the most physically and mentally challenging jobs I've ever done in my life. It's a test of endurance, during which you learn so much about how you can push yourself. But you manage to get through it with the support of the team and the camaraderie that long hours, early starts and tiring work fosters.

I've learned so much about wine-making. Having taken theoretical concepts and putting them into reality here are a few things I've found out:

• Pumps and pipes are the lifeblood of a winery and most of the cellar hand's working day is spent putting them together and cleaning them
• Grape skins are extremely slippery when you step on them
• Making wine is like tending to a demanding lover - you have to pay attention to it night and day, treat it gently and stop at nothing to tend to its needs

In addition to being tougher mentally, my body has also changed. It's more badass. I have carved-out biceps. The surface area of my body covered bruises and cuts is greater than that without them. I banged up by elbow, got caustic acid burns on my foot, and have had gushing water, pipes, ladders and bungs hit my face at various times. Kathy also predicted quite rightly that on week 2 everyone gets a cold. Being wet constantly through the day and the lack of sleep started taking a toll on the immune system at exactly that point: me, Laura, and Mattias all got the sniffles right on cue on the first day of our second week of harvest.

 Sjaak's KT strips really worked on my banged up elbow, which was strained after trying to stop a CO2 tank from toppling over. 2 days of wearing them and it was healed.

My bandaged foot after getting burned by salanol, a cleaning agent with caustic acid in it.

 

Also, the  mark of someone who works in a cellar is hands that look like they've been infected with the black plague - once you start working with reds, you have a constant purple/grey stain on your palms and fingers and it seeps into the small cuts and cracks. I kind of like it...makes it feel like I'm part of a piratical-spirited community of wine-makers.

 

The very first two days on the job, every muscle was sore and I couldn't imagine not having a day for them to recover, as I usually do when I work out at the gym. After the first day of pumpovers, my forearms ached like crazy and I didn't think I could screw on a single pipe the next day let alone move my arms up, But, you learn to power through and get over the hurdle and become stronger. And leaner. My belt is on the last, tightest loop and my jeans are loose. I feel like I could run a 10K tomorrow without any problems.

I have to say that it's been an experience of lifetime. There were times when I thought I couldn't get through the day and sincerely believed that all wine-makers are insane to do what they do. And there were times when I loved being in the cellar and could completely see why people are drawn to wine-making as a career. I'll never forget what I learned and how I've changed. I can't thank the Jordans enough for giving me this opportunity and I hope to come back and visit soon...and maybe screw on some pipes and valves in the cellar for old time's sake.

 

A rare calm moment in the cellar, watching the press