After watching Cubs’ title hopes “crushed” yesterday, it’s time to do some “crushing” of my own. I will join my retired friends in the second step of the Wine-making Process where we extract the eventually drinkable juices from the grapes. I missed Step One, the Harvest, while we were traveling back to Indiana last week. The grapes were picked in record time this year by 25 friends and neighbors, then stored in giant tubs to begin fermentation. We’ll transfer them bucket-by-bucket today into a Press that will squeeze the good stuff out, leaving us with solid “cakes” of seeds, stems, and skin that will eventually go to the birds. The strong smell leaves a lot to be desired, and no one will have a craving for a glass of wine for a few days. 

As for today, what used to take an army of people is now down to just the three of us, as the wine is transferred directly to a new 80-gallon stainless steel storage tank in the basement of my friend’s home. In the past, we’ve had to fill individual 5-gallon carboys and carefully lug them down the steps. It was an accident waiting to happen. The new procedure will save time, muscle, and mess.

Before we know it, will be sitting at Wanker’s Country Saloon, enjoying a beer and a cheeseburger while discussing the Cubs’ chances today in the elimination Wildcard Game against the Colorado Rockies. The wine will continue to ferment until it is transferred into wooden barrels periodically throughout the year. I will also be needed at some point to help prune the vines and transport them to be recycled. This is my fourth year of helping to produce about 300 bottles of wine annually. Throughout each year, I’ve been a leading contributor to its consumption, as well, and will take home another case of the 2016 until the current Walleye vintageis ready to be bottled. Crush Day here I come!