Recent Posts
Login:
Password:

Search Site:

Entries from July 1, 2009 - July 31, 2009

Chronicles Of An Intrepid Intern

DateThursday, July 30, 2009 at 6:01PM

My name is Addison Rex and I am a Cellar Rat: Located at the bottom of the winery food chain. But just like the food chain of Mother Nature, us little guys are indispensable. Most people love to romanticise winemaking but the fact is that a lot of it is dirty, sticky, and repetitive. Somebody has to do the tough jobs of cleaning the barrels and tanks, doing all of the daily tasks that a quality wine requires. And all of that hard work that goes into making a bottle of wine is, at the end of the day, what really gives a wine its character.

A little bit about me: I've always grown up with wine on the table. Over time I developed, like so many others, a passion for the craft, culture and of course, wine itself. After high school I was accepted into California Polytechnic University where I choose a concentration in Oenology in their Wine and Viticulture major program. Several years later at Easter dinner, Robert Rex, master winemaker, founder of Deerfield Ranch Winery and my uncle, leaned across the table and asked: "So when are you going to come learn how to make wine from me?" And so, four months later here I am: About to embark on what I hope to be a successful career as a winemaker. I've got a lot to learn but I am lucky to have the opportunity to learn from the very best. So join me as I join the crew of Deerfield and set out to learn everything there is to know about making world-class wine. Salut!

AuthorThe Cellar Rat | Comment1 Comment | Reference3 References |

Building Camp Deerfield

DateThursday, July 30, 2009 at 6:33PM

Even a Cellar Rat needs a place to live. For the harvest season I'm going to be living on the winery! That'll be great because winemaking requires you to start early. Robert Rex starts his day at 4 a.m. There are a couple of trailers available for interns to stay in during the crush season but I thought it would be more fun if I built a big Camp Curry style tent instead. I'm finding out that it's not as easy as I thought it would be though. The tent I bought is 14 feet by 16 feet so I'm building a wood platform of the same size. That's almost 250 square feet! It won't be finished before I start work on August 3rd so it's going to be a bit of a challenge to get it done while learning the ropes at the winery. Check out the photo gallery for pictures of it's construction. I salvaged lumber from the winery that wasn't being used so the construction has proved to be very difficult because a lot of the wood is twisted and doesn't span long enough... Still it's going to be the perfect rat nest when it's finished!

AuthorThe Cellar Rat | Comment1 Comment | Reference7 References |
tagged