Montinore Estate

7 Questions with the 2009 Winemaking Team

Rudy Marchesi:
1. What was the most memorable moment of Harvest 2009? Watching the last of the Riesling coming in on a sunny October 24th with all of us in great spirits in spite of a month of long hours and no days off.
2. What song kept you going? Gershwin's Rapsody in Blue.
3. What was the best thing you ate? Home cured Salami.
4. What wine from the 2009 vintage are you most excited about? Parsons' Ridge Pinot Noir.
5. Where did you sleep at night? In my bed.
6. What is your favorite vineyard block? This year Parsons' Ridge Block because if the quality of the fruit and because 4 years ago it was really suffering but has since responded so well to our Biodynamic treatments.
7. What was your favorite quote from Rudy this harvest? "Perserverence furthers."

Stephen Webber:
1. What was the most memorable moment of Harvest 2009? Driving our mechanical harvester for the 1st time, under the tutelage of Don, our vineyard mechanic.
2. What song kept you going? The Killers, Spaceman.
3. What was the best thing you ate? Anything my wife bake for me!
4. What wine from the 2009 vintage are you most excited about? Borealis.
5. Where did you sleep at night? The warmth of my marital bed. Occasionally on the couch!
6. What is your favorite vineyard block? Block 10 – Gewurztraminer.
7. What was your favorite quote from Rudy this harvest? "Well, you gotta do what you gotta do!"

Ben Thomas:
1.What was the most memorable moment of Harvest 2009? It's a three-way tie between any one of the delirious midnight punchdowns, Matt and Will foot stomping the pinot totes and the "white pepper on a blueberry pop tart" aroma of the Graham's Block ferments.
2. What song kept you going? I'd have to say Carmina Burana during a particularly dramatic midnight punchdown takes the cake, though I have to acknowledge the support of music by Nina Simone, Mirah and Tom Waits that added a touch of magic just when things were at their most difficult.
3. What was the best thing you ate? Let me just say that we ate very well thanks to Kristin, Rudy, Marc, Mary and Stephen's wife.
4. What wine from the 2009 vintage are you most excited about? I'm actually really excited to see how the Estate Pinot blend turns out. At this moment, all signs point to delicious.
5. Where did you sleep at night? Long harvest days were often followed by too-short nights in the Dodgesaurus, my trusty, rusty 1972 Dodge Tradesman camper van overlooking the vineyard.
6. What is your favorite vineyard block? Graham's Block 7 spreads out beyond the winery's main roll-up door like a painting. Oh, and the grapes are fantastic.
7. What was your favorite quote from Rudy this harvest? "Oh, I'm not worried about that."

Matt Iverson:
1. What was the most memorable moment of Harvest 2009? While gathering samples from Block 9, a family of quail scurrying down a vineyard road.
2. What song kept you going? The entire discography of the Talking Heads, plus ABBA's "Dancing Queen" for good measure
3. What was the best thing you ate? A nice medium aged salami made by Rudy, so succulent and luscious, it gave true grounding to the phrase "melt in your mouth." Oh man, I had dreams about that salami, I admit without shame.
4. What wine from the 2009 vintage are you most excited about? The 15 gallons or so that Will and I have tucked away in our basement at home! But Graham's Block 7 should be really wonderful and aromatic this year, notes of cedar and chocolate mint leaves. And some other experimental offerings, but I'd rather not spill the beans on those too soon!
5. Where did you sleep at night? In a trailer, under as many blankets as I could lay my hands on.
6. What is your favorite vineyard block? Block 19 – a pinot noir block atop the western most hill on the estate. The grapes have this lovely peppery quality to them, and you get a great view of the reservoir (which these days has some 5 or 6 thousand geese honking away every nightfall).
7. What was your favorite quote from Rudy this harvest? "Talk about diurnal variation!"

Will Cannon:
1. What was the most memorable moment of Harvest 2009? I would say going out with the crew, but I actually remember very little from that night....So midnight punch downs, rockin' out to "Talking Heads," ans blowing out the stereo.
2. What song kept you going? When all else failed, the stereo was broken and we were down to the boom box, "Blood Sugar Sex Magic" on cassette tape (Ben sez "Like stabbing my own ears out.").
3. What was the best thing you ate? Prime Rib + 1998 Parsons' Ridge + Sweet Potato Au Gratin + Rudy's Salami
4. What wine from the 2009 vintage are you most excited about? Block 7 and the Reserve Blend, "Carlito's Cuvee."
5. Where did you sleep at night? In the back of my car, out in the vineyard, in Matt's trailer, or very occasionally at home in bed with my lady.
6. What is your favorite vineyard block? Block 7, both because of the wine and because it's the hobbit block. Block 9 "the teenie babies" is the up and comer.
7. What was your favorite quote from Rudy this harvest? Somebody told him his clothes looked lose and he sez, "Really!? Well I'm not dieting, god forbid!"
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