The Bottling Line

There was such a sad void when I walked down to the vineyard today. The space in front of the cellar, which had been formerly occupied by a huge, self-contained bottling truck, was now only an empty piece of concrete. So sad. I missed the friendly clink of the bottling line as my morning salute. But I guess I can take solace in the fact that this is only one of the many planned visits of the bottling fairy-- our very own bottling day is still a week away.

As any novice to the full winemaking process, the bottling machine is a mesmerizing invention that seems like the mechanized pinnacle of the wine process and a true feat of modern technology. To see a bottling line housed in a cellar is enough to amaze, to see this same complicated dance of glassware unfolding within the limited confines of a trailer trunk is simply astounding. Like the wino's ultimate RV, this big truck drives from winery to winery to set up for a day or two and churn out thousands of bottles of wine. It was all just so cool to me: Barnum and Bailey's traveling wine show.

While I wanted desperately to step up and form a link in the human bottling chain, I was pretty confident that my presence on the line would do nothing but hinder the process. So I resigned myself to climbing up the little metal ladder and watching the process unfold from the corner of the truck (the only space not being fully utilized.) From my cramped vantage point, the bottling line truly looked like a scene out of Fantasia. Once on the machine, the bottles take on a life of their own; animated by the slotted belt underneath, the glass silhouettes seem to spin and scooch on a stage all their own, independent from the buzzing machine behind. They do a little dance as they twirl their way past the filling station and bump their way under the cap compressor. I almost wanted to go and grab my ipod and put on a waltz for this epic dance of the wines.

(Sadly this isn't my own pic of the bottling truck. With my cords for my camera still in air-mail, I had to settle for an internet photo, but, it all looks largely the same, just add a few more people and swap out the American for a few South Africans and you get the picture...)