Behind the Scenes Winemaking: Pomum Cellars

 


I’ve been in Washington state for the past few days, volunteering as a winemaker’s assistant for Pomum Cellars, based in Woodinville.

I’ve been checking on the grapes growing at the vineyards in the Yakima Valley, collected grapes that have been harvested

and I have hand-sorted, crushed and pressed the grapes. And I have cleaned and rinsed, scrubbed and rinsed, swept and rinsed some more. Today I’m in for even more of the adventure.

When Javier Alfonso, invited me to come and accompany him he offered the following disclaimer:

We are a small winery, meaning I’m the Winemaker and chief janitor.  I work pretty much alone on day to day operations and use a crew of volunteers as needed.  If you come the work will be pretty grueling.  Lots of cleaning and lots of getting wine and grapes all over yourself.  Bring comfortable clothes you don’t mind getting ruined.

His warning was spot on: It has been more physical work than I ever expected, and a LOT more cleaning than I ever imagined. It has also been absolutely fascinating and an amazing experience. Javier loves making wine, places great value on tending to the details and he takes great pride in his wines, as he should.

He has been an excellent ambassador not just for his own winery, but for the wine and agriculture industry in Washington as a whole.

As I sort through more than 400 photos and pages of notes, I will share my experiences with you so you, too, can get a true behind-the-scenes look at what goes into making a quality bottle of wine.

For now, though, I have to report back to work. There’s more wine-making to be done!

 


Comments

7 responses to “Behind the Scenes Winemaking: Pomum Cellars”

  1. […] the entire day driving all over the Yakima Valley between the vineyards, checking on the vines, collecting grapes, returning bins and chatting with the farmers about their […]

  2. […] helped check on the grapes, met with the farmers, brought grapes back to the winery for processing, hand sorted, crushed, did a lot of rinsing and cleaning of bins and supplies (I had no idea how much cleaning […]

  3. […] doubt I would have ever taken part in harvest with Pomum Cellars as I did last Fall. (That’s me in the picture above.) I was a wine blogger before I had that […]

  4. […] and airline sights will allow you to check a box indicating you are flexible on your dates. I once moved a trip by one day to save $400 on one ticket, so check that box if you […]

  5. MagnumGourmet Avatar
    MagnumGourmet

    When do we get another installment???

  6. Somebody's Mimi Avatar
    Somebody’s Mimi

    Tell us more!!!

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