Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Wine Wine Everywhere... and not a drop to drink. (yet)

I got a email tonight from someone who I haven't really heard from in some time. She mentioned to me how boring work is and how she enjoys finding ANYTHING to procrastinate. Apparently, reading this blog is on that list... so who am I to disappoint!! This one's for you dimple.



The big wine weekend. Vino Da Leone 2004. Believe it or not, Papa Leone went BIGGER and BETTER this year. More variety... more equipment... definitely "raising the bar." I must say that the day started out slightly... WET! Just picture this if you will. In order to prepare the bottles/press/barrels for the wine process, you need to first rinse them down with water. Then cover them in a Sodium Metabisolphide (spelling?) solution. Lastly, you need to rinse off the solution so everything is clean, sanitized, and ready to go. So here I am in my rain jacket, rinse, cleaning, and rinse various pieces of wine equipment...IN THE FREAKIN POURING RAIN!! Raining like cats and dogs, and I'm "rinsing" all of these things. Kind of a funny picture if you think about it.

But the day was a success and we managed to avoid anything that presented to be a problem. MAJOR THANX to Mr. Matt Girosky. He made the trip from UConn to Southington and helped us out ALL DAY LONG. I don't have exact figures for you, but we prepared a @#$%$ load of wine. Definitely over 250 gallons... possibly over 300. 8 different blends. Slightly more than the 190 gallons and three blends we had last year. I wonder what 2005 will bring...

Check out a few shots from the day:



Yes, that nasty purple liquid coming out of the barrel is the stuff that you and I will be consumely several months from now. Looks gross now... but later you'll thank me.

So not only was this a big weekend for the wine... but JACK MADE THE TRIP TOO!!! As you can see from the picture, "Grandpa" Leone was giving Jack is very first lesson in how to make wine. BUT there is other news as well.



Now... that's not just ANY shirt he's wearing...Look closer (and no this isn't one of those annoying jokes of things that make wicked loud noises trying to scare you... seriously look closer at Jack's shirt)



It reads, "I AM GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER." CONGRATS CAREY AND MIKE!!!! WOO HOOO!!!! That's right ladies and gents, another one is ON THE WAY! Due date is looking to be around May. We couldn't be happier. Big Brother Jack is up for the role of "Big Brother." And what a way to tell the family... leave it to Care to think of something like making Jack a shirt. That girl I'll tell ya...

Do you think Jack could smile any bigger in this picture with Crazy Uncle Robbie?



Lastly, I would ALSO like to congratulate my oldest sister Chris and Brother in law, Brett on their... (drumroll please) TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! Na na na na... Truly Amazing Professor. Ten years down and they are just the best couple ever. Two lovable dogs and a beautiful house in New Hampshire (that I WILL see soon, I promise). I only hope that I have the same luck that they had these past ten years. Congratulations you two! :)



The clock is striking 12:14am and I think I'm starting to turn into a pumpkin. The show is going well and life is pretty busy right now. Another congrats goes out to the BESTEST LITTLE in the freakin world, Kate and our latest addition, KENTA!! (that's right... I'm a KKPsi Grandpa) Another Yankee fan mind you, too. I'm just getting to know him, but so far I think we got the best of the Beta Ups bunch (no offense to the other PMs) Lots to be seen with the process and I'm looking forward to being there ever step of the way... Good Luck Kenta.

And we have UConn and Army this Saturday
(yes, the BREAKFAST PILES will be in FULL effect)

Bed time... PRONTO.

Your the only one, who really knew me at all...