Post 18. Prelude to a Big weekend

Hi All,

It rained this week in Napa so that meant no picking Thursday onwards. The winemakers were cool with having a pause in the picking as all the stuff that was ready to go we have got off and the rest apart from the odd block would benefit from an extra few days on the vine.

But before I get to my awesome weekend I wanted to show you a couple of cool things I came across and thought you might like. The first is for the hard working vineyard boys and girls who get called out at all hours of the night and very early morning on frost duty. Below are some pictures of the frost pumps at Gamble ranch here in Yountville (just north of Napa city). This is a 500 acre ranch (200 ha) and it is completely protected by frost sprinklers. The old inefficient impact sprinklers, not very water wise.

10 diesel motors

 

10 pumps

All feed 3 * 30 inch main lines

 The pumps draw from a dam and the manager told me when they are pumping you can watch the level of the dam drop. Its handy having all the pumps in one spot rather than spread out far and wide.

The other night I almost ran over a raccoon that ran out in front of me. He ran into a nearby tree and considerately posed for a photo.

Racoon at Gamble Ranch

I've also seen a couple of skunks wandering around as well as a long nosed snake, which they call a gopher snake. I didn't have my phone though so I didn't get a photo. I went back to get one but couldn't find it.

I had a drink with the two Napa managers on Wednesday afternoon in St Helena, and as I left I spotted a big airplane engine, and a VW beetle with a plane prop on the back. There was a guy working on the airplane engine and I started chatting to him. He was adjusting the exhaust on the engine as when he started it up (which he did for $100 bucks, read the sign) it was burning the building behind it. This motor was the most powerful airplane engine ever built and he took it around and made money off starting it up (no, I didn't pay him to start it, as much as I wanted to). There is a photo below that explains why it was built and what it was used for. very cool and I had to include it in the blog.

That is the definition of awesome

71.5 L, Radial 28 pistons!!!!!

Sign said "top speed yet to be determined"

I also went for a tasting at Mumm of Napa one afternoon, as I drive past it every day, and thought I'd call in. For those who don't know, Mumm is a well known champagne house in France. Tastings are $24 per person but I told them I was in the industry and gave them my card and I tasted for free. You sit down at a table and you are served like you are in a restaurant. You select which three wines you would like to taste and they pour them and tell you about each glass. The tastings are generous, about half a champagne flute, and all wines are made from fruit from Carneros (just south of Napa). I was tasting my three when a guy I spoke to initially came and starting chatting. I asked him a heap of questions and he did the same, interesting guy. He then ducked off and got me three more glasses of their top shelf sparkling. It was a great tasting and a memorable experience. Just about every tasting room in Napa and Sonoma charges for tastings. The cheapest I've seen is $12 and the most expensive I've heard of is $65. This cost comes off the bottle price if you purchase but it means a trip around the wineries in Napa can be very expensive, with no wine to show for it. But if you tell them you work in the industry, and show them a business card you can usually taste for free. In fact it usually gets you a taste of some top shelf wine they don't usually let people taste. Mumm was a great example of this, as well as another winery I went to, Hill Family wines. Instead of the usual 4 wines for tasting I tasted 8, the last four were ultra premium wines reserved for private appointments. Scored!!

three became.......

six :-)))))

I'll stop now but plenty more to tell.

Scott