A shift in the tasting room to experience all aspects of wine.
After a whirlwind of a first week as a Harvest Intern my weekend ‘off’ began with an unexpected twist—I found myself working a shift in the tasting room due to a staff shortage. In true “all hands on deck” fashion, everyone pitches in wherever needed. Honestly, it was a nice change of pace from the heavy manual labor, and I had a wonderful time interacting with wine club members and visitors. It was a great reminder that winemaking is as much about people as it is about grapes.
Sunday brought a beautiful and educational morning in the vineyard. I spent a few hours with winemaker Aaron Kendall sampling from different blocks to check on grape ripeness.
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Getting the winery ready for the fruit.
My biggest win from Week 1 as a harvest intern? I survived! And trust me, it wasn’t just physically—mentally, Day 1 hit the hardest. Everything was brand new. And I mean everything. I knew cleaning would be a big part of my first days—winery sanitation is the backbone of quality winemaking—but I wasn’t prepared for just how steep the learning curve would be.
Take the power washer, for example. I had no idea how to even turn it on or hook up the propane tanks! To be fair, there are 5 steps involved in turning it on, but learning my way around the winery has been a crash course in machinery, tools, and a whole lot of patience.
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Celebrating 10 years of AdVINEtures.
I’m not entirely sure when I decided that experiencing my first Harvest over the age of 50 was a good idea, but here I am committed to being a full-time intern for the next several weeks.
They say timing is everything, and it turns out that this new adventure happens to coincide perfectly with the 10-year anniversary of our wine blog AdVINEtures. While most people in the industry might celebrate with a special bottle of wine, it seems I’ve opted for a more unique way to mark this milestone!
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Aaron & Tracy Kendall.
In life, they say nothing is certain, but in the world of wine, few things come as close to a sure bet as two accomplished winemakers teaming up for their own project. The duo we’re discussing happen to be husband and wife Aaron and Tracy Kendall. Aaron was the assistant winemaker at Beaux Freres, now head winemaker at Compris Vineyard, and Tracy was the associate winemaker at Nicolas-Jay.
After recently purchasing an established vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, together they bring a wealth of wine expertise to their own project, Folly of Man.
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Mark Beringer, GM & Director of winemaking.
Eight years may be a brief span in the world of wine, but in that time, Phantom Creek Estates has quickly risen to prominence in the BC wine industry, earning a reputation as a top destination winery in the South Okanagan.
The winery is now extending its reach to Vancouver’s Lower Mainland with the launch of a new 4,075 square-foot multi-purpose space at 6928 Pearson Way in Richmond, B.C. This expansion was recently revealed along with the release of its first ultra-premium Halo wine, a Bordeaux-style blend called Baoshan.
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