Woodlands Wines is in Wilyabrup, supposedly the best subregion
for growing Cabernet grapes in Western Australia. It is a pretty small winery, with a somewhat
rustic feel considering the various tank sizes and conditions, mostly bought
used at a great bargain, the state of the laboratory, scattered with tools, thermometers,
hydrometers, beakers, chemicals, sulfur and pH testing machines, additives
(lots of tartaric acid), and of course an espresso machine and a fridge
generally stocked with Roger’s beer.
Side note on Roger’s beer, it is made by a brewery called Little
Creatures, that also makes a pale ale modeled after Sierra Nevada (and almost as
good!). The wine makers are very
particular about how clean they want each piece of equipment before use, so a
large portion of my time at the winery is spent in rubber gloves and safety
glasses, handling caustic cleaning agents and citric acid to neutralize. I have also gotten to do some barrel work,
fruit receival, sorting, pressing, racking, inoculating, and lots of pump
overs, accompanied by temp, baume (brix), and pH testing. We worked a lot of hours during the busiest
times, but they usually managed to give a day off here and there to
everyone. They also made dinner for us
(accompanied by a glass or two of wine) if we were there late, which was always
delicious. I had my birthday off, and
got to spend a second February birthday in the summer, this time on a beach:
Then they cooked me dinner at the winery on my birthday as well, including a
beautiful cake decorated by Emilie, the 11-year-old daughter of the wine maker:
I also had St. Patrick’s day off, which turned into another
beautiful day at the beach:
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