Monkey See...Monkey Do...

We had the boys for a short while this weekend. Ronnie picked them up Friday evening and Kristin & Scott picked them up today about noon. Not much time with our precious nuggets...but it beats nothing. Had enough time to go to the donut store (tradition when they spend the night) and play outside for a while.

Trenton, our oldest, is 7. He is a great kid and a fabulous big brother. Carter really doesn't like to let him out of his sight. Trenton is very patient and works to include Carter in his playing. Carter, who is 2, literally worships "Bubba." He wants to be just like his brother...and it is both humorous and inspirational to watch.

Evidence these photos...it's like deja vu. Trenton had my iphone and was watching Ben 10 videos while Carter had my ipod and was watching Yo Gabba Gabba.

If I Could Save (Wine) In a Bottle...my apologies Jim Croce

Where do I begin? When we came back from our cruise a month ago I started a double batch of wine...wildberry shiraz. I have walked by those carboys and smiled sooo many times. Couldn't wait to bottle it. Well, it was ready this weekend and so...

I came home Friday evening and got everything set up to bottle the wine. I knew I didn't have enough corks or bottles and that I would have to go to the wine supply store the next day, but I had enough to get about half of it done. Ronnie is sick again so this was going to be a solo project. I got started. Let me step aside for a minute and explain something. When you are a nice winery you can afford some equipment. If you're a REALLY NICE winery you can afford top of the line equipment. If you bottle at home...you have manual equipment. I have manual equipment. Thus I began. The first thing I had to do was use a siphon (called a wine thief) to pump the wine from the six gallon jug into a pitcher which I would then use to fill the bottles. Think six gallons. Think pumping motion (like a sawing motion...or that obnoxious thing men do when their privates take over). It took about 40 pumps to fill the pitcher. Then I took the pitcher to the bar where I would lift it to at least eye level and pour the wine through a funnel lined with cheesecloth into the wine bottle. Each pitcher filled 3+ bottles. I bottled 28 bottles on Friday night. 28 bottles x 40 pumps? You do the math...I am way to sore for that.

After filling each bottle I then had to put the bottle in the floor on a non-slip pad and use the manual corker to force a cork in and seal the wine. Again...times 28? Is it any wonder that on Saturday morning my shoulders and back were sore? But wait...more wine needed bottling.

After a quick trip to the grocery store to get milk shake ingredients for the sick hubby, I headed out to the wine supply store. I purchased more bottles, more corks, a bottle sanitizer (so this part didn't have to be done quite so manually) and more wine product before returning home.

Starting from scratch Saturday, I washed each bottle by hand. This involves filling them about half way with Cascade water, putting a top on them and shaking vigorously.Then rinsing several times the same way. Again...my poor sore shoulders! The sanitizer I bought involves inverting the bottle and pushing down several times where the sanitizing solution sprays up in the bottle. An aside: If you don't let the solution run back into the bowl before lifting the bottle you get sanitized, too. You'll be glad to know that I am quite sanitary! At any rate, I let the bottles drain in the bottom rack of my dishwasher while setting up, cleaning and sanitizing all the bowls, funnels, pitchers, siphon equipment, etc. Then it started all over again...the pumping, the lifting, the pouring, the corking,... On this day I bottled 27 bottles. That made a total of 55 bottles of wildberry shiraz which I call "Untamed." Oops...make that 54 bottles. I HAD to celebrate.

Once the bottling was done, the cleanup began. Washing those heavy glass carboys is no easy task. Everything has to be washed immediately because you can't let the sediment sit and harden. Things have to be sanitized as well. Got that done.

Step number whatever in the process...cleaning and labeling the bottles. Each bottle has the potential for being a bit sticky...Hey, I said I had to lift the pitcher to eye level. You try doing that 55 times and pouring into a funnel without spilling a bit. Anyway, each bottle has to be wiped with a cloth sprayed with Windex. Then each bottle has to be labeled...by hand. Patting myself on the back here, but I think I did a pretty good job. I made the labels myself and labeled each bottle before packing carefully back into the cases the bottles came in. Job done. Went to bed Saturday night exhausted!

It's Sunday morning and I can barely move. My shoulders are ridiculously sore...my back hurts...my right knee is killing me...my elbows are aching...and I have two batches of wine that I must get started today! Each batch involves "vigorous stirring" along the way in their creation. Will it be worth it? You bet!! In four weeks I will reap about 25 bottles each of "Avalon" (green apple reisling) and "Razzmatazz" (black raspberry merlot). I just hope the soreness is gone by then!!!

Enjoy the pictures of "Untamed." I know I will enjoy the wine!!

The first bottle


The cuter than cute label


The gang

A Change of Pace...

My Christmas break is officially over. I return to work tomorrow. I think I can handle it. After all, it will only be a two day week and Friday is a jeans day!

Since last I blogged I have gone through round 2 of "the crud." Coughed so violently that I'm pretty sure I broke a rib. Thus, Nyquil or it's knockoff counterpart has become my new best friend. It allows me to sleep!!::contented sigh:: On New Year's Day...I slept. Got up at 11:30 a.m. because I needed to eat and take medication. Went back to bed at 12:25 and slept until 5 p.m. I desperately needed the rest. After that, I finally began to get better...I think.::crossed fingers::

As my time off began to wind down, wouldn't you know it...I think I found a new site for the winery. Ron and I met with the designer, painter and cabinet man today to measure the space so that the original plans can be tweaked. This space is 1875 square feet and sits in a shopping center between a book store and a sports nutrition store. There's an El Chico and a 24 Hour Fitness along with Bealls, Cici's, Radio Shack and Hallmark in the center. The foot traffic there should be good and the parking is plentiful. As far as the site goes, it isn't going to need a lot of tear out/patch back. In fact, the only "tear out" is about 20 inches off the length of one wall. I need to remove some raw wood planks that were someone's idea of decor ::shrug:: and finish out two walls and install doors. Other than that...it's all cosmetic. We will spray the drop-down ceiling black (an effort to save money at this point), paint the walls, touch up the stained concrete floor, and decorate. I cut way back on the finish out of the bar and the total number of wine racks. Hopefully the new layout will drop the plumbing bill as well. We'll see.

I have a drawing of the space along with some photos that show the layout. Because of the format of the drawing I am unable to post the image but I have included the photos. The front of the building is shielded by a green canopy which will help block the afternoon/early evening sun. The entire front is windows. When you enter the front door, the bar and wining room will be out front. To the left the first inset will be a merchandise room (wine shirts, decorative glasses, wine paraphernalia such as stoppers, aerators, bath salts and bubble bath, Scentsy products, etc.). Directly behind that will be the batching room. To the right of the batching room will be the stockroom where wine will be stored once it has been bottled, labeled, corked and sealed...awaiting placement in the wine racks. In front of that (and to the right as you enter the store) is a short hallway and the unisex restroom. The restroom is already handicapped equipped so all I have to do is paint and decorate in there!


The "before" pictures give a fairly accurate portrayal of the space as it currently sits. Hopefully in a couple of months we will have some "after" pictures to compare them with.

The Front

Inside the front door

The Restroom

The Stock Room

The Batching Room

Another View of the Batching Room

The Floor

The Merchandise Room

Another View from the front corner


I think this place is significantly better than the Harbor location for several reasons...shorter lease available, cheaper rent, less site renovation, less "oversight" by leasor, and no percentage of profits due to leasor. If things don't work out this time...I'm giving up on the retail part of the business and will either do online sales only or brew wine for personal consumption and friends only. Keep your fingers...and maybe your toes, too...crossed until you hear more from me!