Alarm, No Frost!

At 2:30 am, the alarm sounded. I jumped up and pulled on some clothes to go out into the cold night air. I walked out to the pumphouse and turned on the pumps. After opening the valves to blocks 1 and 3, I walked back home and crawled back into bed. The temperature had dropped a third of a degree in the time it had taken to start up the system. I reset the alarm and went back to sleep. The alarm sounded two times after that, signifying that the temperature had risen above the set point and dropped again below it. By morning, the temperature still hovered at the alarm threshold, and the humidity was 98%. No sign of frost. Ah well... better safe.

Today I'm interviewing a candidate for an internship from Sonoma State University. SSU's wine business program offers 1 credit for 45 hours of work. It is a paid internship, and is slated to last for 135 hours; 3 college credits. I'm hoping to get some help with marketing and sales, along with administration assistance. Clary Ranch Wines will need to grow in order to start paying a real payroll. The type-02 winery license is essential to the sustainability of the venture.

The use permit from the county is a major hurdle. Drew got an estimate of $8000 from the county. OUCH! A nearby winery permit of comparable size cost about one-fourth of that last year. I guess county revenues are down, and they're looking to make up the shortfall.