Local Urban Vino...

This past weekend at Seattle's Eight Bells Winery I, along with a few other volunteers, helped make Pinot Gris wine....process the grapes, anyway! It started with these lovely grapes from McMinnville, OR. Who knew the grapes would be purple when Pinto Gris is actually a white wine?

Pinto Gris Grapes

We tossed 5 huge crates filled with pound after pound of gorgeous grapes into a destemming machine.

 

They then made their way into a large contraption that actually crushes the grapes.

From here the juice is sucked via hose into a vat to settle...click here to read what happens next.

April, a volunteer who will be the next generation of vinters...

While it was impossible to learn the whole wine making process in just one afternoon of volunteering, I did learn a lot. It is hard work! A lot of manual labor is involved in this craft. But, in any craft, including music making, there is manual labor involved. And if you love the process, the hard work doesn't matter. The end result makes the road a delight to travel. For our work, we received a bottle of wine, an experience and camaraderie with other volunteers. 

I encourage you to check out this local winery and support your local vinter!