After being in the wine business as long as I have, I had the opportunity a couple of years ago to do something that most in the retail wine business don't get to do. I worked in a vineyard for a day, following the grapes that we picked as they went from the vine to the de-stemmer, crusher and eventually the fermenting tank. A couple of months ago I received a bottle of the Shiraz (Syrah) that was produced from that tank. It was signed by the winemaker at Clos du Bois, our host for this wine experience. I'm a little torn as to whether or not I will open the signed bottle. I have many bottles of wine that I did not help produce, but only one that had some of my sweat, and fortunately no blood...very sharp vine cutting tool!!

 I mention this because in 3 weeks I will be doing this again in Monterey at the Wild Horse and Estancia Wineries. I will be posting notes as we go through the daily processes of winemaking. I look forward to sending out some pictures of the events of the days. So until then, cheers.

Ken Amendola, Wine Supervisor, Northeast Florida