The Stupidest Thing I've Ever Done

This is my sad face over the stupidest thing I've ever done.  Getting my car stuck in the mud.

While trying to find an alternate route to work (because the main road was closed) I trusted my iPhone to guide me through some back roads to the winery.  Normally this might have worked out, except that it had been raining furiously in Napa for the last several days.  I had forgotten about the recent torrential downpours because this morning was clear and sunny.  I was driving just fine until suddenly I wasn't.

After over an hour of trying to get the car unstuck ourselves, we only succeeded and getting ourselves and little blue covered in mud.  I decided to call for professional help but I was so far off the road that the tow company I called wouldn't even come out to get my car.  And so I had to abandon it in a random vineyard.  After drying my tears I considered pulling off my plates, filing off the VIN and starting my search for a new car.

But then I remembered that this is why I cannot have nice things.

The Next Day:

 By the following day, the mud had dried enough to try the rescue again.  I called in reinforcement from the vineyard manager and worker to help my dig my car out.  Juan brought his mighty truck and backed it all the way down the avenue to my car.

 Here the men look for a place to tie the rope to my car.  Yes, it takes 3 people.

Found a spot and hoped we didn't pull my car out of alignment pulling it out.

Before we start pulling, we have to dig the wheels out.  The day before the ground was soupy, over night the mud hardened and didn't want to let my car go.

Finally my car is pulled from the mud.  Fortunately for me the place I got stuck had been pruned, tied and was too wet to cultivate so I didn't interrupt any vineyard work and no one from that vineyard would be back in that area for a while.  

No one ever has to know it was me who left giant holes in the avenue.  My embarrassment stays between me, my recovery crew and the internet.

It's off to car wash for me!

-L

Vineyard: Pruning Time

Last week I was able to take a break from cork sensory to spend some time in the vineyard and catch the end of pruning.  They let me jump in and do a few vines but I'm too slow for them.  The highest skilled guys can do 60 vines an hour.

This is what the vines look like after the fruit has been harvested and all the leaves have fallen off.

Pruning happens during the winter months while the vines are dormant.  Skilled vineyard workers remove the unnecessary tissue and leave only enough wood to support the buds that will grow next crop.

They collect all that material into piles for another crew to pick up.

These guys pick up the piles of wood and feed them through a chipper.  Sometimes the clippings get mixed back into the soil.

Pruning is time consuming and requires skill, so only the best workers do it.  The guys that are a little slower go behind the pruners and paint the wounds.  A fresh cut is susceptible to entry by airborne, wood-killing-disease spores such as Esca, especially when it is rainy.  The pink looking paint seals the cut and reduces the likelihood that spores could enter the wound and kill the plant.

A third team of vineyard workers has the job of tying down the canes the pruners have pruned.  Tying the canes to the trellis system is important for training and getting the vine to grow in the desired direction. 

The workers who tie the vines down use an electric machine that speeds up the process.  Many places still tie the canes down by hand. (See Video for an example of the Pellenc machine at work)

And yet another separate crew is out cultivating the fields.  Cultivation this time of year is important because it's been very dry this season in California.  This hoe plough is ripping up the grass that was growing during the off season, this will prevent the grass from stealing the moisture in the soil and save it for the vines.  Additionally, cutting down the grass is important for frost protection, also a concern this year. The tall grasses can trap cool air and prevent good air circulation.  To combat frost we usually use sprinklers, but due to low water availability this year we are going to rely more heavily on huge ass fans to move the freezing air.

Well, back to corks for me.

-L