My 2014 Crush

[JohnT]

Here is the spaezle and lasagna. The other picture shows the 3 trays of sausage and 2 trays of meatballs.

 

[JohnT]

Crush is fast approaching. One week remains to get everything ready.

This is the period of time that is the hardest. I tend to worry about each and every detail.

A good example would be yesterday. I had ordered some sixtles of beer (1/6 keg) from a place just up the hill from me. I ordered it on Wednesday and I got a "let me check with my salesman and we will call and let you know. A day goes by, and I get no call. So, last night I stop by a second time.

The place is empty except for one old man with a VERY thick accent. I explain that I never got a call back, not sure if anything I said registered with him. He looks it up and says "keg". As he says this, he began eating a piece of fruit, squirting juice all over the counter. He then says "if there is a problem, we will call you".

This worries me. If there is a problem, and I find out too late, there will not be time to order beer from anywhere else. I know that this is not the end of the world, but I still hate to disappoint the folks at crush. I fret about crap like this to the point where I get very little sleep.

I can think of many other things that I worry about this close to crush... Here is just a short list on the top 12 concerns...

1) what if it rains?
2) what if there is a problem renting the truck?
3) will the dumpster be dropped off on time and in the right spot?
4) what if there is a problem picking up the grapes?
5) what if the truck breaks down on the way back to the winery?
6) what if the truck gets stuck?
7) what if the supplier runs out of yeast?
8) what if the crusher/destemmer breaks down?
9) what if the hydrolic press breaks down?
10) what if the kitchen oven breaks down?
11) what if there is a problem picking up the beer?
12) what if I forget something vital?

Planning/executing the crush is not all sunshine and roses. The closer I get to crush, the less and less sleep I get. Welcome to the "Pre-Crush Freak Out".

Tonight, I think that I will take two cabernets and "call you in the morning".

 

[Boatboy24]

1) what if it rains?

Out of curiosity, what DO you do when it rains? The crush must go on, I guess it just gets a little messy?

 

[JohnT]

We have several of those "pop-up" awnings, we work out of the truck, and we also have "blue tarp" that we can use as another tent.

It does not get messy, just really muddy.

 

[JohnT]

This weekend, I made my final cleaning of all equipment and also tested out the press and crusher/destemmer. SPENT HOURS simply scrubbing things (was still at it at 1am on Saturday). I managed to check off several of the remaining items on my master checklist and now have a better feeling on our preparedness. My two brothers come by to lend a hand on Sunday, and we managed to finish up just in time to watch the Giants win against Houston.

With only 5 days to go, I am about as ready as I will ever be.

People (the Florida, Georgia, and Virginia contingents) will begin to arrive on Wednesday, and by Friday our house will be full. The MRS is doing more than her share in getting the house ready for visitors.

I will probably order some pizza for Thursday night dinner, and make a big pot of chili for Friday night dinner.

 

[ibglowin]

Out of curiosity John, How many lbs/tons are you getting this year? Are they all California?

I would come help just for the food!

 

[JohnT]

Out of curiosity John, How many lbs/tons are you getting this year? Are they all California?

I would come help just for the food!

This year it is 70 crates (or roughly 1.25 tons). This should yield approx 166 gallons of wine.

All of the grapes are sourced from California.

 

[JohnT]

so today was all about picking up the grapes. had 8 people come with me. sucess! made it back in one piece, munching on cheese, salami, and bread all the way back. all prep work is done. time to have some fun and party!

 

[Boatboy24]

Have fun, John! I think you're weather is much the same as ours here in DC for the weekend, and that is absolutely perfect! Looks like you will have a great crush. I'll drive up to NJ on Sunday just to sample some of the food leftovers!

 

[JohnT]

Well folks. It is just after 10pm and the party is still raging. I will post all of the details later but the day began (for me) at 4am and gee, my lower back really likes the chair am now sitting in.

Both lunch and dinner are over. I think i won't eat again for 2days. we are now singin Bruce springstien songs. we are hungarian, but also from jersey.

all i can say folks is that we had a LOTof hard work, and the best of times one could ever expect. This is not a hobby. It is a way of life.

 

[LoneStarLori]

I can't way to see the pictures and find out of the keg place came through. Or if the truck broke down, or any of the dozens of other things that kept you awake.

 

[JohnT]

My Crush - Friday

Well, another crush for the books!

I am very glad to say that it all went very smoothly and none of the imagined disasters occurred. We all had a wonderful time with not even a hint of controversy or drama.

On Friday, the grape pick up day, I normally ask for a volunteer to ride along with me. It is a big truck (24 foot) and having someone else go with me calms me down while driving. In typical style, I ask for one volunteer and I get four. Nice to see that I have such a willing and enthusiastic group of people. So the volunteers were…

My Older Brother
Uncle Charlie (he supplied the chase car)
My buddy Joe
My Dad

I am happy to say that one of the volunteers was my Dad. He has alzheimer’s and is beginning to decline. He can still get around, but can no longer drive and had a big need to get out of the house. What a treat for him! He was so excited to go and see all of the wonderful things that the supplier has.

So we had the big truck and a chase car. Riding in the truck with me was a very long time friend of mine, Joe. He realized that we had a truck and a chase car and just had to start singing…

“East bound and down, loaded up and trucking. We’re gonna do what they say can’t be done”… (Smokey and the Bandit theme song).

Had that stupid song stuck in my head for the entire drive down!..

Picking up the grapes went smoothly. They had everything that I ordered (including the riesling)! Like every year, while waiting to get loaded, my brother and I go “browsing”. Jimmy (my supplier) knows that I am always a sucker for the impulse purchase. Jimmy took me into a secluded area of the warehouse to show me his latest great find, a Super Cabernet. These grapes were incredible tasting and measured a solid 26 brix on my light refractometer. They were sourced from a rather prestigious grape growing region of California (which escapes my memory) and came at a very steep cost of $58 per 36lb lug.

So, of course my order was changed to include a batch of super cab. I will let you folks know how it turns out.

Loading took forever, a good 4 hours. As they were loading, my brother went over to the Italian market across the street for some bread, cheese, and salami. It was good, but what I really wanted was some good Hungarian kielbasa. This has a very distinctive flavor and is my form of crack. Just 10 short minutes from my supplier is the Hungarian Meat Center, so the chase car made a pit stop on the way back to the winery.

During the drive back, I kept thinking about the super cab. My friend Joe started to sing …

SUPER-CAB-ifragilisticexpialidocious.

Great! Yet another stupid song stuck in my head.

When we got back, the truck ran right over the ground without any problem. It tad rained on Thursday and I was worried that the ground might be a big mud pit. Once the truck was parked in position, it was time to open a bottle and enjoy our goodies. When the volunteers finally left, it was about 5pm. I ended up having plenty of time to do those last minute things. Managed to get about 3 hours sleep and was up at 5:30am.

 

[ibglowin]

Definitely interested in the SuperCab! That's actually not all that bad a price IF:

A) The fruit is noticeably higher quality (cluster wise fruit just looks beautiful)
B) Brix is close to perfect
C) Acid close to perfect

How did the numbers compare to the poor old NormalCab?

 

[olusteebus]

looking forward to photos. Do you have a volunteer photographer?

 

[Boatboy24]

Definitely interested in the SuperCab! That's actually not all that bad a price IF:

A) The fruit is noticeably higher quality (cluster wise fruit just looks beautiful)
B) Brix is close to perfect
C) Acid close to perfect

How did the numbers compare to the poor old NormalCab?

I agree. I pay $53 for "Gold" lugs (Amador Gold or Lodi Gold). The others are a buck or two less. I'm thrilled with the wine they produced last year though, and am hopeful I get a repeat this year.

 

[JohnT]

Saturday - morning to 2:30pm

Crush day began at 5:30 am. I managed to keep busy puttering indoors. No matter how hard I wished, I simply could not get the sun to come up any sooner.

Once it was light enough to see my hand in front of my face, I set up the crusher, set up a sorting bench in the truck, and gave the primaries another shot of k-meta. Once finished, I poured myself a cup of coffee and enjoyed the calm.

I had told my brother to come at 8am, but told everybody else to come at 9am. This gave us an hour to start things off before the crowd arrives.

This year, we were fortunate to get our hands on some Riesling. I use a “whole cluster” approach where I simply sort the grapes, dump them into the press and add low pressure over a long time. As the press settles, and the juice is extracted, the grapes in the press gets stirred and additional grapes are added on top. This whole process is very time consuming and takes all day. Lucky for me I had my nephew Taylor. As soon as he woke up, I gave him instructions and left manning the press to him. To his credit, he did a fantastic job with not a single complaint that his hands got sticky!

My cousin Matt arrived just before 9am with 2 toddlers and 2 kegs of beer in tow. He made 2 five-gallon kegs of beer, one was an english ale, and the other was an American ale. His beer impressed all that tried it and there was only a little of the American ale left in the end.

By 9:30am we were in full swing! The process went like this. Grapes are taken off the pallet and sorted (leaves, bad clusters, and sticks removed) into bussing trays. Empty crates are tossed out the side door of the truck, where they are broken up and then carted to the dumpster. Most of the time, we had 5 or 6 people sorting. My brother managed the truck and whenever a space at the sorting table open up, he would simply yell “we need a sorter here” and the space was quickly filled.

The grapes are then sent into the crusher/destemmer which is set up at the back of the truck.. We had built our own stand that is the perfect height for the truck and minimizes the amount of bending and lifting required to load the hopper with grapes. The stand also is high enough to accommodate a brute container used to catch the crushed grapes.

When 3 lugs of grapes have been crushed into the brute container, they are carried into the winery by two “humpers”. The grapes are then lifted and dumped into the appropriate primary (at the direction of Uncle Charlie). Humping is not for the light of heart. Over the years I learned that the best candidate for this position is a young lad trying to show off for the girls.

Each time a load of grapes is dumped into a primary, k-meta/yeast nutrient are added and mixed in using a punch down tool.

In total we had about 50 attend the crush. At each station we always had plenty of help. We managed to finish up at about 2pm, just in time for lunch. I must have been working these people hard, because it was very quiet and an amazing dent was put in food in no time at all.

On the buffet table we had.. Meatballs, lasagna, sausage and peppers, stuffed cabbage, pulled pork, mushroom goulash, spatzle, 2 different chicken paprikas, Hungarian Lecho, Baked Ziti, chicken/noodle casserole, and potato soup. Nobody went home hungry!

Once lunch was over, we set about cleaning up. The truck needed to be swept and hosed out, the crusher needed to be pulled apart, cleaned, and put away. Once the clean up was complete, it was time to gather under the tent and PARTY!!!!

I had several folks taking pictures. I have not bee able to collect them all, but here are some so far..

1 - Here is the sorting line. only 3 working this?
2 - My Nephew at the press. He stuck with it all day!
3 - My cousin's daughter. I never seen such a cut cellar rat.

 

[ou8amaus]

Wow what a day! Sounds like everyone had a great time.

 

[JohnT]

Crush day, 2:30pm up to the wee hours

As we were cleaning and putting away equipment, I enlisted a couple of the kids to set up the tent and bring out the chairs. People had been sipping beer in the morning, and wine since noontime, but only in very small amounts. Now that all of the work is finished, it was time to sit back and really enjoy a glass.

To get us started, I had the kids bring the cooler of soft drinks to the tent and also a mixed case of wine I pulled out from the cellar. Corks started flying and the noise level rose to the appropriate “post crush” level. The first bottle officially opened was a 1995 cabernet sav that I had in reserve. It held up well and was soft and delicious!

At this point, it was time for one of our most popular traditions. While sorting grapes, all of the little loose berries rolling around at the bottom of each create were collected into a wide bucket. Each year, one person is chosen to strip off shoes and socks and process these orphan berries the old fashioned way. Yup, it was time to christen a new member of the “purple foot club”. This year, a good friend of mine, Pat, was selected. In no time, and before Pat even had a chance to object, her husband was stripping off her footwear, placing her into the large tub, and having her stomp the grapes while the rest of us hummed the “chicken dance”. I have to hand it to Pat, she sure was a sport. As is the tradition, the wine from these grapes will be fermented separately and will go home with the “stomper”. This should be great source of dinner party entertainment for years to come. I imagine the spit take as Pat explains to her guests that “I stomped the grapes with my own feet”. Pictures (and plenty were taken) will prove her not a liar!

After the laughter had died down, we had some visitors, a momma black bear and her two cubs. They were a good distance away, but the tent was abandoned for the upper sundeck as a precaution. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to use my famous “Bear Grylls” impression, I let out a lecture on how loud noises usually scare black bears away, Had everyone in stitches, but they took the suggestion and started shouting at the bears. Thankfully, they simply ran off.

With the wildlife portion of our program over, it was time to resume the party. Gradually, everyone gathered at the tent again. More wine, another case, singing (Bruce Springsteen songs were very popular), another case…

Dinner was set out around 6 pm. Before the sun went down, people were once again well fed.
Back at the tent, I joined my buddy in enacting the Monte Python skit where some old men were complaining (outlandishly) on how tough they had it as a child. This skit is perhaps the only truly funny thing that Monte Python ever made. What a hoot! People were rolling on the grass! Yet another case comes up from the cellar. Our song choices got to be simpler and simpler (by the light of the silvery moon was a hit).

By 10pm, it was time to move the party in doors. Our numbers had dwindled down to the die hards. It was so great to get caught up with folks that I have not seen in a while. By 1am a handful of overnighters were put to bed and I, myself, collapsed for the first good night sleep in days.

Epilogue: The crush went well. There was no drama, no arguments, or any other negative energy. It was very easy to tell how everyone had a great time. The real “aww-gee” moment came when I woke up in the morning. I normally go straight for a cup of coffee and then tour the battle field to gravely assess the damage (or see what kind of mess we have). To my surprise, before turning in, several of the women banded together and cleaned up. There was not a single dirty dish in sight. I got goose bumps and thanked God for giving me such wonderful friends!

Pressing is this Saturday, which is a much more subdued affair. Usually, there are only about 10 folks that show up for that. By the sound of things, however, I may have a larger than usual turnout.

In the meantime, I will do my punch downs and try to keep calm. It is so easy to panic when there is only 360 days left until crush!!!!


Note: folks, I will post more pictures as soon as I can collect them.

 

[Kraffty]

Well Done John, thank you again for sharing this year’s crush story. Like last year your writing is so descriptive that I found myself grinning like I was listening to a friend tell me about his great weekend party. I could almost hear bottles and glasses clinking and voices and laughing building as the evening went on.

Sounds like another year of great memories for a lot of people, better get planning for next year and please update from time to time on the Super Cab.

Mike

 

[JohnT]

Winemaker's log... supplemental..

last night's punch down showed the distinctive up-shoot of temperature and a very firm raft of skins. Fermentation is progressing nicely on all batches.. BTW, we made the following...

100% merlot (lodi)
100% petit sarah - lodi
Blend of 20 parts old vine san gio to 7 parts cab franc
super cab
Riesling (johannisberg) - whole cluster press.

Used RC212 on all reds and D47 on the Riesling.