15,000 bottles of wine in one day. I think we deserve a pat on the back. I’m sure some bigger wineries can do triple that, but we are just a few folks with a bottling truck. That’s right, a mobile bottling truck. Many small wineries don’t have a large enough facility or the money to spend on a machine you don’t use every day. Therefore, they rent out bottling trucks for the day. It looks like any average truck but the sides fly open and a whole platform and machine is revealed inside. Great idea! Bravo to whomever came up with that one.
The wine is pumped into the bottle, the cork is pressed in, the topper is vacuumed on, then the label is pasted on and the bottles are boxed and loaded onto palettes for shipping. Over the course of the day, we bottled and packaged 3 different wines headed to parts of Italy, New York and Las Vegas. On bottling days, everyone comes out to work at the winery even those that are usually out picking in the vineyards. It’s kind of like recess when all the different classes are let free to mingle. Am I trying too hard? Maybe. But, it’s fun and there’s lots of laughing involved.
After a day of bottling one deserves a great big lunch. But, in reality this lunch is no different than an other day here. We pretty much have a feast every single working day complete with the obligatory wine and beer. The Italians surely do things right… they work hard, play hard and definitely know how to romance their senses in every way.
In this winery (and in Italy) happiness is key. There is a love of the work and the happiness it gives. And, I think, that is the same happiness Bruno wants those drinking his wine to experience and feel. I am very proud to say that I have helped in some way to get those bottles to the people!
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Whitney…great post and I was transported back to the Mezzogiorno for a few minutes.:-)
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