The Days Are Just Full!

On Saturday morning I headed up to Santa Rosa, to The Beverage People, a winemaking supply store. I rented a corker and bought some potassium metabisufite, corks and a couple of new filling valves. Back at the ranch, Kristin and Barbara (aka GuitarGirl) met me, and along with my four kids, we began the process of bottling the 2003 (!) Syrah.
We first grabbed a half-ton macrobin and scrubbed it clean. After moving it into place, tipped with one corner lower, we weighed out about 25 grams of meta, added it to the macrobin, and began siphoning the wine from the barrel. The aroma of black pepper and blackberries filled the barn. Time to start the bottling line.
Barbara tended the intake of the siphon. Patrick and I did the filling, then handed off the bottles to Liana who carefully wiped them clean. Liana handed off the bottles and corks one by one to Kristin, who placed the bottle in the corker, dropped the cork into the slot, and pulled on the lever to squeeze and seat the cork. Kristin handed the bottle to Olivia. Olivia carefully applied the label and handed the finished bottle to Christopher, who put the bottles into the cases. As we completed cases, Christopher would announce the fact, and we would all let out with a Tom Swift-style, "Yay!" It was a lot of fun and went really well. I still need to finish the cleanup, though.
Sunday was Fathers' Day. Cathy treated me and the kids to brunch at Tres Hombres, then we headed back home for the kids to tend their rooms before going to Cathy's place for the upcoming week. After rooms were clean(er), we jumped in the truck and drove to my parents' house in San Rafael. My sister, Colleen, and two of her four kids, Kyra and Marcos, were there, and two of Christie's girls, Alanna and Shannon, showed up a bit later. We missed Carolyn and her family, who were there in the morning. After an early steak dinner and some swimming, the kids and I drove home for the weekly handoff to Cathy. The house gets real quiet with just me, the dog, and the cat.
Monday was filled with administrative catchup (I'm working with a bookkeeper to get the winery financial records set up correctly), and a Scout meeting in the evening. After I dropped the boys off back at Cathy's house, Barbara accompanied me to the Loomis Barn, where we sat in with some other musicians, playing rock covers for about an hour. It was an early night for partying at the Loomis's, ending before 11!
Yesterday, I returned the corker (The Beverage People are closed on Sundays and Mondays), then drove down to Cotati, where I met Joe Louvar, bass player par excellence. We played through about 15 of our songs there in the park, using just acoustic guitars (Well, Joe played and acoustic bass, amplified with a battery-powered amp...). After about an hour, we parted ways and I headed back up to Santa Rosa to pick up another sterile water sampling bottle from the lab, and to a print shop to get winery stationery started. Then back to Petaluma to do some banking, and home by about 5:30.
This morning, Galo tells me we need diesel fuel. Tomorrow evening is the Pinot Days Winemaker Table Hop Dinner at Pres A Vi Restaurant in the Presidio of San Francisco. I'll be pouring a tasting before the dinner. Sunday is the Pinot Days Grand Tasting at Fort Mason in SF. So I better get crackin'!