The process of learning about making and producing fine wine followed quickly. I was issued a pair of clippers and a bucket and pointed toward the vineyard. Filled with visions of creating the next “La Tache,” I promptly sliced my thumb cutting the very first cluster of grapes I ever harvested. Not one to invite humiliation, I stifled my yelp and hid the bleeding appendage until I could don a pair of field gloves and continued my….education.

 

Punch downs, general cellar ratting, working the bottling and labeling line, listening to Peter about the art of farming to attain the healthiest and tastiest grapes and of course, barrel selection (thank you, Rebecca) are all important pieces of the fascinating puzzle of the wine making process. (Waxing the bottle tops is just plain back breaking work. But I think it looks awesome!)

 

Wthout question, my favorite endeavor is Blending Day. That’s when the rubber hits the road. The grapes that were nurtured on the vine, picked at the precise moment of maturity, binned, soaked, fermented, the juice extracted and barreled for 22 months (18 for the Chardonnay) are now ready for the “Grand Finale.” To make it truly my wine, I am entrusted to rely on my nose and palate to blend what I believe makes the best combination of Pinot Noir clones that will result in that year’s vintage of GoGi. When I find what I believe to be the perfect blend, that’s what goes in the bottle. That’s the final stroke on the painting, the last edited shot that completes the film. The journey is done. And there it is – a bottle of GoGi to be enjoyed some time, some place by someone I’ll probably never know. But I will most definitely be there sharing the experience. I am there because all of my senses are there pouring out of the bottle and into the glass.