No, you pervs, this is the number of hours I've worked this week! I haven't (yet) had any time for fun the past few weeks. I have, however, survived three weeks of work and was fortunate enough to score the day shift. I don't think I would have lasted long working 12 hours night shifts during the cold, Kiwi nights.I showed up on the first day of work to a group of ALL MEN standing around in a circle. Yes, please! I also learned that wearing my beloved lipstick to work wasn't necessary. If you want to try to feel unattractive, throw on some white gummies (rubber boots), old pants that are too big so they fall off your ass when they are soaked with water, juice, yeast and grape skins AND you smell like a compost pile. That pretty much sums me up on a daily basis! I only brought two pairs of work pants, so they each have to last me three days. And, boy, let me tell you, they are about ready to walk right off me and straight into the washing machine by the end of 36 hours on this bod.
There are only two
girls on each shift, so I work with a wonderful girl from Chile. We are mainly in charge of inoculations and additions. The inoculations might have to be my favorite thing. It is a very precise process and is, after all, what turns boring grape juice into wine! Some of the yeasts are super active and create a wild, foamy mess that spews out over the sides of the tubs. The whole process isn't supposed to take more than one hour, but you also don't want to shock them with the cold juice and kill them. You have to slowly add the juice from the tank you are inoculating and lower the temperature to within 5-7 degrees of the tank itself. Most tanks are about 18 degrees, but you start off by adding the yeast to 40 degree water, just to get them acclimated. I had one small job that I was told would only take a "couple of buckets", but by the time I got the temperature down, I ended up using eleven!
[The RDV (Rotary Drum Vacuum) that sucks the juice out of the lees]There is a pretty strict beer fine policy at work. Meaning, if you fuck up and burn out a pump, spill lots of grapes/juice/wine, or any other minute thing that might get us all a free beer after a 12 hours shift, you'll surely be fined. I thought that I was going to be OK and not owe a "box of piss" for the whole vintage until yesterday. I was given the simple tasks of adding some yeast nutrients to an already fermenting tank. I was carrying on about my business, adding the food to my little yeasties, when all of a sudden a god damn volcano erupted from the tank! There was foam and juice spewing out everywhere! I almost had a heart attack because I had no idea why this was happening and just stood there frozen hoping Mt. Fucking Vesuvius would settle back down so I could hose off the tank and pretend nothing happened. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately for me, people came running over with pumps and 3-inch hoses in hand ready to rectify my disaster. After I closed the lid on the eruption and it settled back down, it took me at least two hours to get my heart rate back to normal!
[Malcolm keeping the presses running and juice flowing into the proper tank]At this point, vintage is about 3/4 complete, with close to 8,000 tons of grapes pressed. We all might start to get two days off a week, then go down to more normal working hours! I can't remember what life is like without work consuming it, but I must say I don't really mind. The days go by unbelievably quickly and we have a chef at work I want to bring back to Seattle with me. She's amazing! I don't think I've ever been fed so well in my life. I am ready for the millions of cuts on my hands to heal, however. Because my hands are constantly wet at work and in so many different powders, yeasts and other drying ingredients the scrapes I have are starting to heal while they are still open. So, basically it looks like I have little mini vaginas all over my hands! Awesome.
[All of the tools, valves and connections to keep the place running!]
