Rain, Rain, Please Don't Go Away.

Just a cat I found on my front porch, hiding from the rain.

Rainy Wednesday for us over in the Barossa.  Other vintages I have worked, rain is a huge deal and they try to get as much fruit in as possible to avoid bunch rots and berry splitting etc.  On the up side, it slows down the crushing.  We received fruit on the rainy day, but the next day, a beautiful day at that, there was no crushing in sight.  The mechanical harvesters would not be able to get through the vineyards, and the rain would have lowered the sugars of the grapes.  Therefore, we got a relaxing day! It was nice to catch out breath.  The previous days were pretty busy; I was running around all day with very little time to relax.  Tuesday, I sat down to lunch at 1:30 and at 1:40 my supervisor came in, in a panic, asking me to save her.  It just all of a sudden got busy so I helped, duh.  Then Wednesday I sat down for lunch at 2pm.  Now, if I was not starting at 5 am this would not be so weird, but I start at 5, so it is tough.  The lull of a day helped us to sit back, take a deep breath, and clean all the stuff that had been neglected during the 2 weeks of 24 hour shifts.

I did get a chance to talk to the winemaker, Toby, about how the rain affected things.  He did not seemed to stressed about it at all.  In the Barossa, bunch rot, such as Botrytis, is not a big issue.  The grapes that are still out on the vines can handle a rain or two. If there were a few more big storms coming, there would be a lot more of an issue.  But this storm was not a big deal...PHEW.

On the forecast of harvest, we have crushed about 2000 tonnes and have 700 more or so to go.  The end is in sight, and so soon too.  I feel it was yesterday that we had our first grape samples! Now, we are about to see our last?!!?! Crazy talk.  Time flies when you are working hard, and having fun :)

M.O.G.

MOG is stuff that is found in the crusher that is not grapes: Material Other that Grapes.  There is a good amount of this found in the crusher, especially when the fruit is mechanically harvested.  I don't usually have first hand experience with them, but sometimes I am told about it so I can check it out.  The other morning I did have some MOG in a grape sample that was left for me...I did not like this MOG one bit, a HUGE huntsman spider. So not cool at 5:30 in the morning. SO not cool.

A common MOG is lizards.  Quentin found one the other day and I got to hold it!! I was scared but felt that if they (the boys) were able to hold it, why couldn't I....so i conjured up the balls and held the good sized lizard.

On Sunday, Quentin found a dead rat...eeew! Today, there was an injured owl.  I don't know what else will be found throughout the rest of harvest, but I hope not anything crazy.  There was a story going around that a winery found a kangaroo in their grapes. How that kangaroo got in unnoticed is a mystery, but its fun to think weird things like that can actually happen.

5 A.M.s

The last two weeks we have been working double two shifts for the day.  The permanents work from 3am to 3pm, or 3pm to 3am.  The interns work 5am-3pm or 2:30pm to 12:30am.  It is not too bad once you are accustom to waking up and sleeping at odd hours.  I try to go to be at 8:30pm and wake up around 4am or 4:25 depending on how confident I am at getting ready.  Bec, my supervisor goes to be around 5 or 6pm and wakes up around 2am.  I have no idea what the arvo (afternoon) shift does in terms of sleeping, but they do what they do.

I have been getting used to waking up in the 4 o'clock hour and respecting Ali Chabot for doing it most through college to work at the airport.  This morning, for some reason, I did not succeed at what I have been for the last 2 weeks!! I woke up, went back to sleep, and woke up at 4:50 when my carpool arrived...SHIT!  I got ready in RECORD time, t minus a minute and a half (so proud).  Sadly, when I got to work everyone was commenting on how "tired" I looked, basically saying I do not look great when I have just woken up.  What ever, shit happens.

Anywho, mornings at St. Hallett are not that bad.  I enjoy working in the morning with my co-worker/supervisor Bec.  We calibrate all the equipment and recently have gone on morning bike rides to collect samples and get a little "workout" in.  While biking around you are able to say hi to all the cellar people out cleaning tanks or presses, or even crushing fruit.  It is way more lively at 5am than one would expect, probably more so when everyone has had their fixing, may it be coffee, tea or some other form of a start up.

Here are some morning pictures:

Morning Bike Ride

Beau doing pump overs...

Chris pressing some red skins

Bec collecting a sample from a RS analysis

Paul keeping the crusher awesome

The totally amazing sunrise that makes 5am not so bad

The Wrong Side Done Right

On Valentine's Day Carissa and I wanted to show the "arvo" shift some love, so we baked them some cookies! One challenge was how to get to and fro to bake the cookies and deliver them.  Thankfully, Kim was nice enough to lend us her car.  The next challenge was out of the 2 American's involved in the situation, who was going to drive.  I got my "international drivers permit" in America so I was ready to take on the challenge.

The first step was a but sketchy, but i got into the right side of the car. Next, putting the car in a gear.  I definitely stroked the door a few times looking for the shifter.  After I found the shifter, I had to find the gas pedal!! Wait, it was in the same spot. TRICKSTERS!!  I finally made it out onto the road and headed towards Nuri.  The biggest problem I had was that I had no idea how big the left side of the car was.  I had no concept of how far or close I was to parked cars or pedestrians or trees.  The next issue was turning into a driveway.  I had to stay on the left most lane to turn into the left most side. It makes sense when I say it like that, but in reality it is way more of a challenge.

I was very happy that Kim was able to trust me with her car.  I did not ding it and I was able to return it to her in perfect conditions.  Go me.

I FORGOT TO SAY: the blinker and windshield wipers are placed on the opposite side than in America.  So when I would want to turn left or right, I would signal via windshield wipers.  And if it were to rain, I am sure I would have taken the water off with the blinkers....

Buggin' Out

There is a difference between spiders in America and Australia.  The small spiders in Australia are the big spiders in America.  If I were to see an Australian spider in America I would have sprinted to China.  They are seriously huge.

The other day, I was in the lab and lifted my boot box to find a spider just chilling in a nook under the box. At first glance I thought it was a fake spider, it was that big.  I just looked at it and shreeked to my co-workers "Is this real/alive?"  I proceeded to blow on it; it was very much alive.  I shreeked again and ran away.  Kim came to the rescue with ethanol and papertowels and a shoe (on her foot).  It was so scary that it could have gone into my shoes!!!

My house has been pretty clear of bugs.  There are mosquitoes and flies. A couple times I found earwigs and daddy long legs.  I thought I saw a white tip once in the bathroom, so I got Sarah to kill it.  I also thought I saw a red back, so I sprayed it with a whole-lot-a raid. It is dead.

I don't know how I would be able to handle a huntsman in my room though as my fellow American friend Carissa did.  It was on her wall and ceiling for a few days!!!! NO WAY I would have done that. Not a chance in hell.  

Freaking HUGE spider out on the pumps in the Tank Farm.