Rolling Bay Vineyards sits nestled on a hill off Manitou Rd amidst well-built coastal homes. A crew of roughly 10 were already at work scrubbing large vats to receive the crushed grapes. A solution of SO2 cleaner was used to sterilize buckets and equipment prior to seeing any grapes. Soon Alfonse, the intelligent and quirky winemaker backed the small Isuzu flat bed truck down into the winery. Strapped to the back were 3-4 tons of fruit. The first two crates were filled with 1 ton of Merlot grapes, their smooth skins shining in the occasional rays of sun. Alfonse tossed me a handful and I tasted the sweet ripe fruit. In two years this was going to mature into some delicious wine. The remaining four crates were all a perfectly ripened Syrah which the vineyard was able to get off the vine just in time before rot, birds or pests set in. They had a bright acidity which would surely manifest itself in the wine.
My friend Dan wrote an email inviting me to help with a grape crushing event at a small winery on Bainbridge Island. Having spent a season pouring wine at Hume Vineyards back in VA and slowly drinking through the "fruits" of my labor, I jumped at the opportunity to see more of the wine making. Dan offered me his Kawasaki W-650, a parallel twin similar to a Triumph Bonneville, to ride over to the winery. Departing his home in the forests outside Poulsbo, we meandered through narrow evergreen forests dotted with beautiful cedar shingled homes. The morning was grey but warm, facilitating a stop at Fay Bainbridge Park. Down on the beachfront, the skyline across Puget Sound offered a view of Seattle's buildings and suburban cities on the hills. I was happy to keep it at such a distance...for my nerves and all. Rolling Bay Vineyards sits nestled on a hill off Manitou Rd amidst well-built coastal homes. A crew of roughly 10 were already at work scrubbing large vats to receive the crushed grapes. A solution of SO2 cleaner was used to sterilize buckets and equipment prior to seeing any grapes. Soon Alfonse, the intelligent and quirky winemaker backed the small Isuzu flat bed truck down into the winery. Strapped to the back were 3-4 tons of fruit. The first two crates were filled with 1 ton of Merlot grapes, their smooth skins shining in the occasional rays of sun. Alfonse tossed me a handful and I tasted the sweet ripe fruit. In two years this was going to mature into some delicious wine. The remaining four crates were all a perfectly ripened Syrah which the vineyard was able to get off the vine just in time before rot, birds or pests set in. They had a bright acidity which would surely manifest itself in the wine. After lunch we finished the crushing then began cleaning the vats and equipment. The flatbed of the truck was slick with grapejuice and skins while my hands and arms were sticky with the sweet juice. Yellow jackets buzzed all over, probing at the fruit on the ground, and crusher. Once cleaned and ready to depart, Alfonse kindly provided each volunteer with a newly bottled 2012 Cab Sav. I tucked it away in my saddlebags for a few nights in the woods.
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Mike SaundersIn May 2014 I quit my job to ride a Honda Ruckus over 69'000 mi and counting. Wild camping most nights and cooking most of my own meals, I keep the costs low and the landscape changing. Archives
April 2018
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