22 March 2015



After our carriage-drawn tour of the vineyard we were shown the production room where millions of grapes are lightly squashed, dropped into enormous vats, fermented and then gravity filtered.  The process is pretty impressive I must say.  Montes definitely puts our backyard bootlegging to shame.  Pablo and I could have continued to ask our knowledgeable tour guide many more questions about the science behind the art of winemaking but we saved our fellow tour mates the boredom and kept our mouths shut.  And while the process of fermentation might be very sciencey, the concept of barreling, aging, and storing wine takes on the romantic properties of secrecy and history.  From the moment the chemical solution is poured into an ages old wooden barrel and placed in its designated spot in a dark cave, humanity transcends technology and time.  The beverage that is one day consumed from the bottled contents of the barrel is not just a mixture of acid, glucose, and alcohol.  It is a tangible memory of the past.  Of the harvest from which it was made, of the land from which grew the grapes, of that summer that you remember was so hot or that year when you visited Chile.  Wine, like fond memories, only gets better with time.


1 comment:

  1. You write so beautifully, Em. You're truly an inspiration.

    Love,
    The Little One

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