Straight from the horse's mouth

I have been thinking about the blog a lot lately and realized it is almost solely from the perspective of myself or the production team.  Although these departments seem to be the most glamorous, they are just a small piece of what happens here.  So I  asked the lovely Aubree who mans our tasting room weekdays to write a little something about her life at the winery.  Thanks Aubree!

The alarm goes off before daybreak now.  But that’s okay, because instead of heading to a cubicle or an office for my job, I know that I will spend my day in a room with expansive views of rolling hills and vines as far as the eye can see.  This is just one of the benefits of working in the tasting room here.
The drive out to work is one of my favorite parts of the day. I put on a little jazz and wind my way through a series a roads that take me through beautiful bucolic settings. I pass by horses lazily grazing in green pastures, ponds and wetlands crowded with ducks, geese and heron. Along the road are farmhouses painted a bright cherry red, surrounded by rolling fields of grain.

Finally I am pulling up at the gates of Montinore Estate. This is always a beautiful sight, no matter the season. In the spring and summer I get to witness first hand the progression of the vines, leading up to vast quantities of bright emerald green leaves and small berry clusters peeking out from underneath. In the autumn the vines start to slowly shut down, and in what seems like one last hurrah the leaves turn a gorgeous golden hue before finally dropping to the ground. Even the winter here is beautiful, with the dark sepia tones of the naked vines, often shrouded with tendrils of mist and fog.

I creep slowly up the long driveway, soaking it all in. I am flanked by hundred year old oak trees on either side, one of which houses our resident red tail hawk. I park my car, step out and take in a deep full breath of that crisp clean air that seems so different from just a few miles down the road. I head up to the tasting room to open up for the day. I set up the counter, sip and spit my way through all of our wines, and anxiously await the arrival of guests. Because really, that’s what this job is all about, and why it is so much fun. I get to talk to people day in and day out about my passion. Often, this passion is shared by the guests that come in. Sometimes it is a brand new experience, and I get to play tour guide to someone only starting to map out the world of wine. As tasting room associates we are often part of very special events for our guests, birthdays, anniversaries, reunions of long time friends or family. People come in from all over the world and share their stories. I have even learned a few words in Japanese! We become friends with our wine club members and regular guests, and look forward to catching up on all their latest news, or seeing how much a baby has grown. In the tasting room we get to witness first hand what I consider to be the best part of the wine making process, the enjoyment of the final product! We get to see the expression on a guest’s face when they find something they absolutely love. We get to see the surprise and delight when they taste something new and discover they like it.  You are the reason we are all here, so come on out and say hi! I look forward to meeting you!