12,500 Bottles

For most folk bottling day is a lot of heavy lifting and sore shoulders. But when it’s your very first, celebration trumps.

The amazing  little bottling machine on wheels spun into place at 7am.  While Sonia and Olivier set up shop, Julien and Henri helped move the thousands of stranded bottles into place.

From the pallets into the wine dispensing machine, a delightful contraption right out of Willy Wonka’s Factory.

Thank heavens for our wonderful friend Norbert, maitre de chai of a large vineyard down the road, who took a day off work just to help.

He ushered us into positions, then bent us double all day long with jokes to distract us from our aches. Loading the pallets was tricky and tiring. Two people keeping pace with the snaking line of approaching bottles; a lot of rhythm and swing, throwing down 6 bottles at a time without shattering the glass.

Then huge satisfaction as each one filled to the top! John whisked the pallets away to their berths, for  beauty rest in the months to come.

When that sagging assembly line feeling set in, Henri wired up his amplifiers with some rock; just what we needed to keep us dancing until the “pause cafe.”

And that’s when Francoise our oenologue dropped by to taste and to write up the official report card: “Belle Brillance; Rouge rubis vif, intensite bonne; Nez fruite, fruits rouges/cassis, notes boises; Bonne equilibre, des tannins presents qui devraient se fondre; Retour aromatique sur le boise torrefie.” Henri cranked up the music to accompany a few skips of joy.

We set up a big table in the chai for lunch, and drank bottling day wine right from our spigot on the tank. Lively chatter about life in Aquitaine today – great weather, every kind of water sport, abundant summer music festivals… and legendary local nourishment.  Wine of course, but also amazing goat and sheep cheese, vegetables, fruits (it’s cherry season, the best in the world) meats of all kinds… this is the country of abundance as raiders discovered over the centuries.  Francoise regalled us with stories about old time vineyard meals for scores of laborers – traditional menus, endless courses… and the unsung heroine –  the vintner’s wife at the stove.

By afternoon, we were veritable bottling experts and picked up speed. The music helped.  Et voila, here we are at the end of a long day, the young lady resting snug in her protective covering multi bunk beds. Henri and I take notes about stocking procedures; inspectors can come anytime and every bottle must be accounted for. I asked the customs officer how to note all the wine we plan to imbibe with friends. He eyed me gravely: “But Madame, wine is bad for your health!”

A toast to Bacchus anyway. Tonight we’ll drink our neighbor’s delicious wine and celebrate: next year we’ll be drinking our own.

Final score, one down. That leaves us a glorious 12,499!