A Trip to Wine Country — Part 2

To read Part 1 of this 3 part series go to A Trip to Wine Country — Part 1

The Benziger Winery
The second part of my trip to wine country was spent at Benziger Winery located very near the Coturri Winery, in Sonoma Valley.

Watch the video below for a little intro to what we were about to experience.



Okay so basically what I was saying was that at 3:30am me and my friend Adam woke up from a short night's sleep to go pick grapes at Benziger Winery. It was the end of the harvest season and their estate zinfandel grapes needed to be picked and there was not one moment to spare, so they decided to do a night harvest, and we were invited!

So, we got ready and wore as many layers as possible and off we drove, down the windy country roads, in the middle of the night. We got lost momentarily but soon enough, we found ourselves driving up their front gate and saw the sight at hand.



When we arrived we found out that Mike Benziger himself was there for the pick! That was pretty cool. We had to wait in the cold while they dealt with some technical problems... It was FREEEEEEZING! The flood-lights apparently didn't want to turn on, or was it the generator was being stubborn. Hmm, anyhoo after a long wait, they finally managed and off we were to witness this strange and unusual event.



Had I been an alien and had landed on earth that night, I would have been utterly confused as to what on earth these strange beings were doing.



From then onwards, the night progressed smoothly, and row by row, grapes were picked by hand, by the crate, and dumped into containers that the cranky tractor was pushing. As the tractor rode, Mike and his fellow helpers picked out the weeds, leaves and bad grapes making sure only the best was within.



The pickers worked fast, and with only one tractor, constantly moving, they had to keep speed and stay in pace. It seemed like a race; who could pick the most crates in the shortest time. In fact, every time a crate was dumped into the big container, someone with a clip-book kept track of who it was and how many were dumped... Did they get payed by the crate?? Who knows.



This picking frenzy continued for a good 4 hours...



I was fascinated, but, not fascinated enough to not let the cold get to me. At around 6am, I crawled into the car, turned on the engine and blasted the heater. I took a nice nap and next thing you know, the sun had risen!



This is the beautiful vineyard we spent the night on. I had no idea how beautiful it was until now...

Things were quiet as I got out the car. Apparently the picking was over. I ventured around, looking for a sign of life. I found everyone behind the tree covered hill. The grapes were not allowed any naps. Once they were picked they moved on to be crushed.



And then begin the first stages of fermentation.

New Coturri to Taste!!

Mmmmm, these are the bottles I have at home, sitting around waiting to be opened...

From left to right we have 2001 Pinot Noir from Lost Creek Vineyards in Yorkville Highlands, 2004 Merlot from Maclise Vineyards in Sonoma Valley, and the 2005 Carignan from the Testa Vineyards in Mendocino County.

I think they shall all be rather different and unique due to their vintages and appellation.

UPDATE: Check out this fun tasting/interview with Tony Coturri on Wine Library TV. The second wine they taste is the 2001 Pinot Noir that I have. Really excited to taste that one!!!

New Coturri to Taste!!, originally uploaded by ja-nel-a-di.