Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/131907
wi n e m a k i n g launch grapes over the top of a 32-foottall building. that necessity is the mother of invention, and you don't need a Class A license to move a truck on your property. Bottling line gremlins If you want your kids to go to college, put them on the bottling line for their summer job. My four sons all worked at the winery, and they all have college degrees. I've offered this service to some of my friends, and their kids either have college degrees or are in college. Having your own bottling line is a necessary "evil," which is a very kind and restrained four-letter word to describe it. I am very thankful that some people love this challenge. I am convinced that there are bottling line gremlins: How else can you explain that the spinner would throw bottles onto the ground after it had nicely spun on 21,000 capsules that day? Move those trucks Grape truck drivers always come in too tight or too far from your dump hopper. The ones that are too far away can be sent around for another approach. The ones that come in too tight will hook your receiving hopper. I've found that your hoist can be an effective tool in sliding them sideways back into their lane. Remember 70 W in e s & V i ne s J U NE 2 0 13 98 points Getting a 98-point rating on your reserve wine is like getting a date with the prom queen. Sometimes you just get lucky. When a stuck valve opens In the day when we had dejuicing tanks, the one with the stuck valve was used as a temporary lees-storage tank when the regular lees tank was full. That air-actuated valve will find its way open at 3 a.m. and effectively cover your presses, pumps and catwalks with a nice coating of grey muck. Don't trust air-actuated valves overhead. Did I mention that it took 16 hours to remove the 6 inches of lees from the crush pad? Grape harvester operators and field crews got nearly an entire day off when this happened. My staff, on the other hand, worked straight through. The crush diet Traveling frequently in support of wine sales makes it very difficult to maintain your waistline. The physical work during crush has been my only saving grace. Winemaker Steve Pessagno advocates putting teenagers to work on the bottling line.