You're bloody dreamin'

Handling two tonnes of Chardonnay takes 14 hours? Bloody dreamin. But not for us. Basket pressing was the order of the bday. Shovel in, press gently, dig out, turn, shovel in again, press gently.

Fisting also helps. Chardonnay loves a little of the rough and kinky stuff.

How good is shovelin'? Dude loves to shovel. Dude loves Occupational Health & Safety too. How good is a forklift?

This is Pete below. Pete is holding Chardonnay grapes. Though he is in awe and amazement at the quality he is trying to remain calm about his emotions towards these grapes.

In this pic he kind of looks like Colin Firth in that movie where Firth is a homosexual, directed by a dude who makes suits. Pete works at Josef Chromy Wines so he may be acting as an infidel at Stoney Rise by visiting and spying.

Here is Joe shoveling grapes into the basket press. This is laborious. So laborious. But it makes final wines taste really good. Small ferments follow this process to make WINE THAT PEOPLE LIKE TO TYPE IN CAPS LOCK ABOUT. Small ferments can also make sommeliers and wine retailers aroused.

Close up of Chardonnay. Sexy Chardonnay.

So the Chardonnay is now partly in barrel and partly in tanks beginning the long, slow ferment process. Joe makes a 'funny' joke about his Remond barrels because they sent him two free t-shirts after purchasing heaps of barrels. His joke is 'Check out my t-shirt, it only cost me $20,000'.

Early start

There was rumour abounding that Joe had shat the bed this morning, but in fact he had just let Mike sleep in 15 minutes to ensure he had some quality time with Rat The Vineyard Guy before Mike arrived at the winery. When Mike roused, Joe was shocked.

That shock quickly turned to awe, and there was a brief moment of man-to-man admiration of the view; before the Stoney Rise winemaking team 2010 got back into the action.

Skip to lunchtime at Stoney Rise today - check out Joe's collection of Bordeaux wooden box lids. Joe loves eating off them to remind him how lowly his esteem is of the Cabernet grape and how glad he is that he ripped out and burnt all the Cabernet vines on the Stoney Rise property when he bought it.

Tonight's action includes a tasting and dinner with the Launceston Wine Appreciation society. Established around 25 years ago, this is one of the first times someone like Mike has been let into the inner sanctum, and probably the last... Reports tomorrow. Chardonnay picking is the order of the day for Wednesday the 24th of March.