Im lucky and spoiled, I get this. I make no excuses, nor do I let this go to my head, but rather I enjoy the life I am afforded and try to give as much as I get. My life included meetings with winemakers on the crush pads at their wineries, because, well it's harvest and the guys are busy. Thankfully I work in an industry that I love, and makes me happy (and feeds and waters me VERY well) . I had a meeting out at Vineland Estates this week with one of my top three favourite winemakers in the region, and what we are planning is going to be a fantastic experience for whoever is lucky enough to join us. Stay tuned for more on that via social media channels very soon. For now, I will just say that it's related to the return of Death Row Meals for the fall/winter 2012/13 season. Excited! 

The winery as seen from the vineyard

Here are some shots of my visit with Brian Schmidt, winemaker, and Dave Hulley, the Director of Customer Experience. From the crush pad, to the vineyard, to the barrel cellar, this was quite the meeting. I hope you enjoy. 

The harvester has a sorter and destemmer on board, saving the crew lots of valuable time during harvest

Further sorting and processing of the grapes, and another time saving machine in use at Vineland Estates

A multitasking winemaker, Brian working a machine and yelling ideas to Dave and I below

The view of what Brian was working on...white wine grapes being churned about

Red wine gets its colour from the skin contact while fermenting. This is a tank that allows the "lees" to be pushed down so it stays submerged

After we were done outside we took a trip down into the barrel cellar to taste the 2011 new and old vines cab franc. I was the second non-Vineland employee to get to taste this vintage, so lucky and can't wait for this to be bottled!

Excuse the blur, but I swallowed some of the wine during tasting, totally by accident I assure you. One of my favourite whites in Ontario. Full stop!

What do you do after tasting wine, and spending time at a winery? Have a hearty lunch, and this is one of my favourite hidden gems: Memphis Fire BBQ Co. in Winona, Ontario. Just outside of Hamilton. 

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Shake aka The Elvis

My favourite, The Sneaky Cheese