Winemaking is the only thing on my agenda today, as I do my part to assist in the process. We picked the grapes about 10-days ago, so it’s now time to extract the juices. We’ll use a wine press, not bare feet, to continue the fermentation activity in a giant stainless steel storage tank. Later, it will be transferred to a wooden barrel. This year’s crop did not yield enough quantity to require the use of supplemental carboys to retain the output. Our friend’s backyard vineyard operation has become much more sophisticated over the years, with quality at the forefront. They’ve consulted with experts and taken classes to improve their growing and bottling skills. I’m just a part time farmhand lending some muscle to their labor of love. I work for free wine. 

My wife’s daughter continues to rehabilitate from a broken leg. We lend a hand at least one evening each week doing housework, dog walking, yard chores, and cooking. Last night, we ate steak and pasta, continuing to rid our freezer of meat in anticipation of a meatless diet. (See Post #1472). In other words, I have to eat more meat now to consume less in the future. As my wife focuses more on cooking fish and vegetables, I’ll be spending more time at Buffalo Wild Wings getting my meat fix. They’ll be redefined as Leadership Meatings! Tonight, however, it’s Korean Beef short ribs to keep me meatified. I might even have a cheeseburger lunch for good measure. There’s just something about the prospect of giving up meat that makes me crave it more. 

We watched the movie Parasite yesterday afternoon, reminiscent of our movie matinees before the pandemic shut down the theaters. It’s, of course, a film that you need to read rather than listen to, unless you’re fluent in Korean. The subtitles originally discouraged us from going to see it, but the awards it earned made us reconsider. I also purchased a Hulu subscription that made it available in addition to the early Fargo episodes we wanted to watch. We may make a new tradition out of home matinees, if my stomach doesn’t growl from the lack of future meat. There will, however, be plenty of wine to drink.