Me? On a Forklift?

When I pull up there’s a massive truck blocking the driveway – new barrels being delivered! Gilles tells me to put my coffee down and jump on the forklift so he can hoist me up to help load the barrels onto the pallet. Uh, so good morning. We unload 10 and the driver heads on down the road to another winery, says it’s a full day.



Gilles explains that he buys barrels from different tonneliers for the different flavors they impart to the wine. Barrel making is a highly involved and complicated craft and barrel types are intensely regionalized in France (what isn't?). But for our purposes it’s primarily about the type of wood (French oak is most common and desired), how the wood is cut (American oak is much less porous than French and is sawn rather hand split) and the level of toast it is given. Toasting the inside of a barrel alters the chemical composition of the wood providing a buffer between the alcohol and the tannins in the wood. The heavier the toast, the less tannic the wine. So for instance a Cabernet could stand up to, and possibly even benefit from heavier tannin infusion - a lighter toast. But a Pinot Noir being more delicate would be overwhelmed by heavy tannins meaning more buffer is preferred - heavy toast.

OK next it’s forklift lesson time for Subi! Not only did I learn how to drive the thing, I also moved FULL barrels and stacked THREE high! (I was so proud of my first baby stack, check it out!)

What a rush! Normally he doesn’t allow anyone close to the barrels their first time on a forklift, but I take to it naturally. Not sure what that says about me, but I feel like a stud. Precise maneuvers like stacking required a lot of finesse. You have to be able move the thing ONE INCH to stack accurately! Also the space is cramped and your forks can do thousands of dollars worth of damage in one small turn. There are a ton of things to remember – the expensive fermentation tank to your southeast, the rope to your northwest that could pull down the tent roof, the slope that you’re reversing onto meaning that your load has to be angled, keeping your load low for center of gravity while maneuvering, and of course the owner’s car not too far away. Oh and most importantly, remembering to breathe.