Budbreak at Shone Farm

Budbreak, the first significant phenological stage of the new season, occurred about March 31st at Shone Farm. "Phenology" is the study of relationships between climate & the biological phenomena (like budbreak, bloom, ripening, veraison, etc.) that take place throughout the growing year. It's an exciting time here in wine country! These pics were taken in Block 10 (Chardonnay vines) where I am working on my semester lab report, documenting all the changes taking place and the vineyard practices and activities that have started.

Wine Exhibit at the MOMA

On April 17th I drove down to San Francisco to see the final day of the wine exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. Photos here include the mural of the 1976 Paris Tasting (they had a bottle of the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won the event but the pic I took came out fuzzy) and the "smell wall." Though I could have written the brochure description myself, I'm nonetheless plagarizing it here!......"How Wine Became Modern explores the visual culture of wine and its stunning transformation over the last three decades. Designed in collaboration with renowned architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the exhibition combines historical artifacts, archi- tectural models, design objects, newly commissioned artworks, and enticing installations, including a "smell wall" to probe the many aspects of wine culture, among them the globalization of wine, concepts of terroir, wine in popular media, and new strategies in glassware, and winery design."

It was a wonderful exhibit (my pictures don't do it justice). If it comes to a city near you, go see it!!

Bottling Day at Shone Farm

This is my first post in a while! One week after brother Nick's visit, and the day after I participated in Bottling Day at Shone Farm, I was knocked on my butt for nearly three weeks with the flu. Horrible. The worst part was being totally sapped of energy - that, and not having any desire to drink! I know I'm really sick when I go 3 weeks without a glass of wine!Anyway, our Wine 42.2 class participated in the bottling of Shone Farm wines on March 31st. It was a lot of fun and a treat to see a "mobile" bottling line in operation. These mobile units rent out to wineries that are too small to have a bottling facility of their own - what a great idea! We helped by placing empty bottles on the conveyor, putting the foil caps in place, packing the finished bottles into boxes, and smacking labels on the boxes. The bottling line did the filling, bottle labeling, corking and sealing. If anyone is interested in a nice bottle of Shone Farm Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah or Pinot noir, and you

are not able to shop locally, I can hook you right up!