Living with Vigor: The Winery

So much happened today! I don't really know where to begin, so I'll try to keep it in chronological order. So, I didn't really head out of the house till about noon-ish, and made my way out to Monroe, where I'll be spending most of my summer. It only took about 30 min to get there, which is nice. It's pretty much a straight shot, and is a very pretty drive. Outside of Eugene, it's mostly farmland, where they were harvesting this year's wheat crop. I saw plenty of horses and cows grazing on the picturesque pastures.

Upon arriving at the winery, I was welcomed by 145 acres of rolling hills covered in miles and miles of rows of vines. It was absolutely stunning. I made my way to the tasting room, where there was a very pleasant woman named Ginger there to greet me. We briefly chatted about the ins and outs of shipping wine to other states. After our brief conversation, I met the head of the winery, Chris Mazepink, who showed me around the estate, and helped me get more familiar with where everything was. He was filtering there estate Pino Grigio, It smelled FANTASTIC as small amounts spilled out onto the winery floor while pumping it out of the fermentation tank...I wanted to just stick my head in and breath in the aroma. From there, he took me to where they store all the barrels that they have shipped in from france. The barrels cost about $1000 each, and after about 8 vintages, they sell them to various companies for about $25 each.

I had to fill out a bit of paperwork, and did so in the laboratory. In the lab, I met Kim. Kim is an intern lab technician, who has a degree in forensic science. She told me a little bit about her story, and I really look forward to learning some of the science behind the wine making process from her. between her and Chris, I believe I have a LOT I can learn, and I really look forward to working and having some good chats with them both.

After touring the winery, I took a drive up the narrow gravel road through the actual vineyard. The vines were being pruned by the workers and everything looked very well kept. Upon reaching the top of the hill, I could see for MILES and MILES. Chris mentioned that on a clear day, you can actually see the snow capped Cascade mountain ranges. I examined some of the vines, and found that the grapes were still quite small (see picture below). I was tempted to pick one to give it a taste, but I knew I would just get a mouth full of sour grape flavor- so I just let them be...Their days are numbered anyway.

Overall, this was the best day here in Oregon so far. The thought of helping make something, that from vine to bottle only travels less than a mile, is very exciting to me. I can't wait to get busy in that winery!

Here are some pictures of the sights I saw today, including some blueberry bushes on an organic blueberry farm just outside of town: