Just had to share some of our wining experiences with you...
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| Fall at Tucannon Cellars |
When we planned our holiday in the USA, we never even thought we would be working - hah!
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| Ready to fill |
But we arrived just in time for the big Grape Harvest.
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| Krystina and Kohner picking |
Phil and Danette purchased a winery in the Red Mountain area near Benton City last year -
Tucannon Cellars.
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| Hard day of picking |
It is a beautiful location and they make wonderful wines - we sampled every one...
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| Doug - lots of hours picking |
And, the whole family got involved in the process. We learned a lot!
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| So tasty right off the vine |
It starts with the grapes - of course. Lots of choices:
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| Beautiful Mouvedre' grapes |
- grow your own grapes
- pick other peoples grapes
- buy picked grapes
- just buy the Juice
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| Ethen cooling off a batch |
Buying the Juice is definitely the easiest from our perspective - hah.
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| Lisa, Ken, and Ryan filling the buckets |
But more expensive and you lose some quality control.
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| Feeding the Crusher |
Once you get the grapes picked, you fill the buckets and pour then into the Crusher.
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| Crusher ready for the next batch |
The Crusher removes the stems and breaks the grapes - keep your fingers out of the way!
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| Phil - Forklift Man |
The bins of grapes are moved into cool storage.
Now the Winemakers, Phil and Ethen, can work their magic!
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| Lisa working the dry ice |
When the grapes have "brewed" for awhile, they are ready to be Pressed.
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| The Family at work |
Grab the buckets again and scoop the grapes up and load them into the Press.
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| Ken and Eric loading up the Press |
A very simple piece of equipment that came all the way from Italy.
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| Phil and Ethen getting Purple |
It just squishes and squishes all of the wonderful juice out of the grapes.
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| Lisa getting all of the juice |
The juice tastes so good!
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| Ness and Phil filling the barrels |
Grab your buckets again - it is time to fill up the barrels and tanks.
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| Danette filling up the barrels |
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| Ethen filling up the Press |
Yes, buckets are a key piece of equipment at a winery!
The white grapes are placed in stainless steel tanks and kept very very cold.
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| Bexs having a wine attack |
The white wines will be ready in about 4 months.
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| Filled with lots of red wine |
You have to be patient to taste the red wine though.
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| Working hard - hah! |
It has to be stored in the barrels for 3 years before bottling.
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| Pizza for the workers - yeah! |
But, it will be worth the wait - promise!
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| Steve and Bexs are done |
We handled all kinds of grapes and juice:
Carmenere, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewurztraminer.
Whew!
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| Ken gone Grape Crazy |
Per the Winemakers, we put up almost 6000 gallons of wine, 50 tons of grapes, and 70 barrels during our short visit.
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| Lisa and Ness filling barrels |
Of course, that doesn't include all the wine we drank - hah!
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| Serious work, Eric! |
It was a very interesting experience.
Plus, we got to spend lots and lots of quality time with the family.
Who knew you could have so much fun while you worked?
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| Bucket Brigade |
Looking forward to visiting
Tucannon Cellars and tasting the new batch next time we are back in Washington!
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| The Juice! |
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| More and more crushing, Ken! |
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| Wine bubbling away |
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| Moving barrels around |
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| Reisling is almost ready |
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| The Grape Stomp! |
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| Phil and Ethen crushing away |
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| Cooling down the grapes |
