What day is it today???

Why, its my Birthday!

Thank you to all of you who have already sent messages and posted on the forums for my birthday. It has already been a sweet day, and it has only just begun!!

Now I can reveal that I went home this past weekend for my birthday, and I had a blast! One of the things I got to do was go up to Napa (California's Wine Country) and enjoy the sights and tastes of the area. Here are a couple.







I have family up there, so I got to be involved with a family friends winery and help bottle wine!

Here is a quick rundown on how it goes.

Since the Vinter in question is a hobbiest, we just bottled a couple of barrels. It was a Pinot Noir, and it was very nice.

Here are the barrels.



And what we were about to do...



And where we were going to do it. Its a travelling bottling line! (Yes, it was done in a trailer, which is not standard for the big Vinters, but for the amount we were doing, we didn't need to worry about a huge production)



And the bottles, sadly empty...



But not for long!!!



Here is the wheel of filling.. (The bottles are first gassed with nitrogen to remove all air that may oxidize the wine)



And when they are full, the awesome corking machine corks the bottles and removes any excess air/nitrogen. The bubble in your wine is Nitrogen, not air!



And look, there are corks in there!



Here is the end of the line. After it is corked, it is ready to be wiped down on the outside, and boxed up to be left alone for another year (2007s should be drunk in 2009)



And the final final product! This was Organic Pinot Noir, and I had a lot of fun being involved!




And as it is my birthday today, I have decided to start pairing TODAY!!!

Should be good luck, right???

Wish me some luck, and have a great day!!!