You Dirty Rat – Cellar Rat, That Is

James Cagneyclaims he never actually said “Mmmm you dirty rat!” in his 1931 film Taxi!  But, I will claim it proudly come this harvest season in Sonoma as I get the pleasant opportunity to scrub tanks, clean barrels and help prepare and execute crush and fermentation at Holdredge Winesin Healdsburg, CA.  I owe a lot to John Holdredge for allowing me to work for him this Fall as I guess I am probably twice as old as most of his usual harvest interns.  The opportunity came as a surprise one day on Facebook when John noticed I was applying to win an opportunity to work with Lynn Penner-Ash in Oregon last November.  He reached out and said something to the effect of “If you don’t win this thing, you can come work for me.”

Then, in February, I called him on his proposal as I had just learned that my company was about to embark on a radical organizational change that was going to reduce everyone’s level of job security.  John is a witty and bold individual and gave me what I suspect is the usual schpeal about the overwhelming work involved and how only those entirely devoted to the wine industry should apply.  Of course, I am a devoted wine geek and just completed a winemaker certificate program from UC-Davis, so I was adamant about putting that book-learnin’ to actual use.  He and I came to agreement.

So, here I am.  Two months from being let go from said re-organization and about 3 weeks away from what I can only assume to be synonomous with the hell week I experienced as a neophyte in my college fraternity (only to have John state that it will be more like a month, than a mere week) and I cannot be more excited.  As many already know, the weather in the North Coast has delayed harvest an estimated 2-3 weeks, so early September will most likely be spent cleaning tanks and preparing the facility for the harvest activity.  But fear not, as it has been said more than once that it takes a lot of good beer to make great wine and I intend to uphold that legend.

John Holdredge

If you are not already familiar with Holdredge Winesthen you are truly missing out on some fantastic Russian River Pinot Noir.  If you are familiar with me at all, you know I love this grape and just recently coordinated a global Pinot Noir tasting via Twitter.  My wife and I met John (and have yet to meet his better half, Carri) last summer.  Though we caught him early when he was about to send some barrel samples to the lab, he was gracious and courteous to commence a tasting and give us some insight as to the bike route we should take that afternoon as we were going on a bike ride later.  He came highly recommended from Michael Bryan, owner of the Atlanta Wine School, and Atlanta is a market John visits regularly.

As a part of my journey, it is my desire to bring to you the behind-the-scenes look at harvest in a winery including the personalities that abound in such a hectic yet passionate environment.  If you are in the area, you must visit.  If you have any questions about the process, please ask.  It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it!