Isn’t this the time when wineries have crazy fun harvest parties?
I don’t seem to hear of any - just a lot of people crushing grapes and stuff!
You’re such a tool.
There is a Celebration of Harvest in Santa Barbara County Oct. 10th weekend. Go to http://www.sbcountywines.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
…tard.
We are! probably after the 4th of October. We’ll have Choto en Ajillo, Arroz Liberal, ensalada, pan y vino. Translated Baby goat in paprika, garlic wine sauce, Soupy rice with wild hare and pepper, salad, bread and wine. Wanna come?
Nola
Don’t hold back…what do you really think of Todd?
All the harvest parties I’ve been to have been after harvest, celebrating the end.
T-bag will soon be suffering my wrath…
I had a vodka and tonic last night after working 16 hours. Does that constitute a party? 
Absolutely!!! You go girl!!! ![[dance-clap.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/835ce082e2fa9c96c4b7f96406bf6e9a0db882ff.gif "[dance-clap.gif]"){kind=small}
Yes, harvest parties typically celebrate the harvest that was. Won’t be until November around these parts, I imagine. I’m going to a pre-harvest event this Sunday here in Portland at Grochau Cellars. Taste new releases, hang out and talk shop, like that. Grochau is part of the Portland Wine Project, where I’m making wine. 30th and Industrial in NW Portland, all afternoon I think.
We had our first harvest event a couple of weeks ago - closed the winery and we all went to the beach house to play. For those that don’t know the Oregon Coast, it is beautiful with alot of fun to be had, and we are lucky to have a special place we all enjoy. I guess in total we were gone about 5 days, we fished for Salmon (caught our limits of 2 each, making for about 26 fresh chinook and silver for eating over harvest… Yummm )… then of course we had to crab and ate it all, man there is nothing like fresh dungenous (sp). Played alot of Yahtzee, Scrabble, listened to some awesome music and of course built big fires at night, even tho the weather was T-shirt days and cool nights. I missed the funniest event however, went to bed early, but I hear there was a “talking tent” similar to the Wizard of Oz… ask the tent a question and it spouted great knowledge - I think there was some very nice whiskey encouraging both the talking tent and those that came to seek wisdom.
Our next event is Saturday, with our pre-harvest meeting, where we discuss our goals, plans, strategy and of course policy for all the new folks. They also all get their harvest uniform (Boots, Team shirts, Mag lights, Hats, Rain Gear… you get the idea). We ramp up at this time of year, from 4 of us who work year round to about 15 folks, so of course it’s a time of transition, introduction and learning. For me it’s great fun to see the new people settle in, begin to take a sense of ownership in what they are learning and doing, and then finally see them take pride in being a member of the team. Alot of our pre-harvest play is designed to welcome all and make everyone feel at home, and of course, very important members of the “team” ( Our elite group, those that made the cut ). FYI, we on average produce about 15,000 cases a year in our facility, so this is no small task at hand during harvest. Much more like a fine tuned instrument. So I am thinking after the meeting a bowling game is probably in order, and knowing my boys, they will need pizza and beer for those that are old enough.
I’ve had the chance to watch the new folks as we finish up our bottling and winery projects, and have to say I believe we have the “A” team in place - which is a very good feeling at this time of year.
So when is the next harvest event ??? Not sure what is coming down the pike, but knowing this group and our goofy atmosphere, am sure it will be within the next week or so… Just heard this week we have Chef Carey who is willing to come feed us, with his background in the South and fine dining it’s sure to be a real treat !!! God I LOVE this time of year.
Stay tuned ******
Mama Wolf
Got a pit BBQ event tonight, Spaniard Release party. Hope the storm clears soon!
Other than that, we have our local wineries Grape Stomp competition Oct 3. And our crush party will be after everything is barreled down in several weeks. We’re not allowed to talk about a specific date yet 
Given we are in the southern half of the planet, we usually do Vintage Dinner as the formal thing to mark surviving vintage, and do it in April or May.
Interesting concept. Let your hair down, pat yourselves on the back, laugh about the stuff that went wrong…but do it all before the fact.
I like it.
The best harvest party I ever went to was the “Cellar Rats Ball” in NZ. A couple of the interns in the area put out fliers everywhere and rented out a big space. The theme was sort of 80s prom meets disco meets random costumes. Everyone from all over the world decompressed simultaneously after a tough crush and madness ensued.
I like the vineyard harvest parties more than the wineries. Better food and more relaxed. Lee Hudson throws one of the best ones around these parts.
Lance Cutler (former winemaker of Gundy-Bundy back in the day) used to put on the Cellar Rat Ball every year in Sonoma. No owners/proprietors/consulting winemakers were welcome…just “rats”. It was the biggest drunkfest I’d been to. In '95 had it at a driving range in Sonoma…not the brightest idea, but that was the point.
I’ve been hearing about this party for a few years, I think I’m going to crash it.
I don’t buy fruit from him any more. If you hear the date, let me know. I’m not above crashing it either…with triplets no less.
Niiiiiiice!
(keepin’ it real, man…keepin’ it real)
Ours is tonight, about 60 friends, family and our regular crew. We moved this up this year so it’s between Chardonnay picking and Cabernet picking, kind of a slower time for us. We also use the party to raise donations for our local homeless shelter. This year it’s sleeping bags we’re after. I get a 1/2 ton of pumpkins we spread around the yard and we do a grape stomp. I imagine that we’ll consume about 80 bottles of wine and about 9 PM the dinning room will be cleared, the Salsa music will come on and my crew and thier families will start dancing.
We also do a volunteer thank you dinner when it’s all over in December.