Who said Pinot doesn't age?

This has been by far the hardest week of the harvest.  We have worked a few 8.5 hour days and one 9.5 hour day all while moving the entire time never to sit down, only to grab a quick snack and its on to the next thing.  All of the red grapes are in and are fermenting so our focus has been on mixing and adding yeasts, foods, punching down... making wine!  Friday was by far the hardest day, physically, as we had 3 tanks to pump out as the wine was ready for barreling.  Emptying a tank involves first pumping out all of the free run juice and then raking and shoveling the grapes into bins to be pressed.  My body was just screaming at me but I couldn't just stop like if I was working out, I had to keep going and go quickly!  Our hard work was rewarded all week!  We drank some very old Pinot, 1992 and 1993.  The wine was stunning.  A wine this old needs a little time to open up and develop.  When we first opened the bottle it did smell just a little off and after a few minutes it developed into a thing of beauty: balanced, bright, silky smooth, it really just blew my mind.  Hands down the two very best glasses of wine I have ever had.  Generally speaking people say that Pinots don't age and typically won't go much past 5 years or so vs a Cabernet Sauvignon which really needs to be aged (10 years) because its so harsh young, typically.

This leads me to a little saying I heard... Cabernet is the king of wine, Pinot Noir is the wine of kings!  I love it..haha.

The highlight of the week was an underground kitchen that I went to put on by Chef Mateo Granados (Mateo Granados).  We popped in for an appetizer and some wine.  So basically, the chef and his team bring the kitchen to you.  In this case it was at Preston Wines, you can bring your own wine or buy some from the winery, no pressure.  Its more about the dining then anything else.  We talked with the Chef for a bit then sat down for a quick bite.  The dishes offered that night are put up on a board, you get an idea of what you want and sit down at the table which is just a long table where you are sitting with everyone creating a great atmosphere conducive talking to the people around you while sharing wine and eating great food.  I had the rabbit belly salad which was awesome, I can't imagine what the main courses are like!  We couldn't spend too much time there as we didn't officially sign up for the event, the people I am living with know the chef and their son works for him so we were able to sneak in and eat a little food and drink some wine.  Check out this article for more on Mateo's (Tendejon de la Calle) mobile kitchen (Inside Scoop SF article).  While the outdoor mobile kitchen is winding down I look forward to attending one of his events again!

The setup - kitchen right, seating left

The menu, cant really read it... my bad

My salad, yum yum yum

Northern California is a paradise of fresh ingredients (everyone seems to have their own garden), the best cooking, wine (of course), great people, and a love for life! Whooooo!!!!