Well the same has happened to me since we last caught up. The winery has got wind of the fact I have a successful background in implementing operations excellence / lean management principles and have asked me to help them establish some of the basic process and procedure documentation to support the new harvest staff coming on board. I've also been asked to work with the office and town based operations team (responsible for order fulfillment amongst other things) to document their processes and to put some key performance indicators in.
On the positive...
...if I do this well then it could be an avenue to marry my skillset with the needs of an industry I love and be the initial launching platform for Terroir Consulting (my wee business)
...the co would happily be quoted as a client which would be a good start
...I get to feel like I'm adding value as well as learning
...I am still learning a whole load about how the winery works...indeed probably more given the breadth and depth of what needs to be covered
...I get recompensed in wine!!
On the not so positive...
...it doesn't feel like a big change from what I was doing before...this was supposed to be life changing focus
...some of the work removes me from the hands on learning I was doing and puts me back in the office for part my time (though I still have to wear my steel toe capped boots for venturing into the winery).
On balance...
...this is definitely a door opening and an opportunity which should not be overlooked as a niche I can service and very well (lots of wineries are turning to lean management). It also let's me build knowledge, a reputation and contacts which will be very useful for a business which will have fingers in many pies when I get it up and running.
So I'm going for it!! Like Michael Corleone I just have to recognise that I have core capabilities and skills which will get pulled on and if I want to contribute (and make a living) then I'll never get out.
Other things I learned this week (before the shift in focus) included how to "rack wine from the barrel". What? I hear you ask. This is when you move the wine from the barrels to the big stainless steel tanks and on Thursday it meant moving 15,000 litres from barrel to tank...the picture below shows you the tool (attached to massive delivery and suction hoses through a pump).
For every barrel, you have to centre and ram the contraption into the base of the barrel, clamp it in place, close the valve, turn on the nitrogen flow to push the wine up and open the valve to let the wine flow through to the tank...timing is everything...nitrogen open with valve closed forces the barrel to explode.
You then watch the wine flow through the looking glass until it starts to bubble up with the sediment at the bottom of the barrel. Again the gas and valve have to be closed instantly or too much of the "sludge" gets through to the tank. You then release the gas valve which releases the pressure / nitrogen from the barrel (ah the smell is beautiful...concentrated wine smells), and unclamp the contraption then move it to the next barrel....63 times I did that on Thursday...my hands hurt.
This week I
HUNG OUT in...Hanmer Springs for a couple days with Clarabelle...the weather was exceptionally hot so we had absolutely no desire to go to the thermal hot pools and replaced it with a big tramp in the shade of the forrest. Hanmer Springs is a stunning alpine town beloved by anyone who pays it a visit
WINED ON...quite a few wines on a weekend winery tour taking in Villa Maria, Brancott, Wairau River, Nautilus. The absolute standout by a country mile based on not only the wines but the scale, beauty, forward thinking, holistic sustainability practices etc was PETER YEALANDS. I won't do this often during this blog but I would absolutely encourage you to check out all that is Yealands either in person or by checking out their website (yealandsestate.co.nz). Also impressive was the speed and personal response I received from Mr Yealands himself yo a query / suggestion I sent him last night.
DINED ON...the most beautiful roast lamb, smoked almond paste, peas with mint and feta and smoked aubergine at Brancott Heritage Centre with some of the Blenheim / Nelson crew.
Additionally of note this week was the amazing Asian meal housemate Sarah cooked this week including chilli fused edamame beans, fried vegetarian dumplings and Katsu curry..so much effort and stunning flavour for midweek. YUM
And this weeks postscript...what do you do when you're an inbetweener ie here too long to be on holiday but not long enough to have moved and put down roots? Well other than shamelessly clamping onto your family's social life (thanks for sharing your friends and social arrangements Claire and Gareth) you also put yourself out there and say yes to things you wouldn't normally do like meeting up with people I've only briefly met once but who are also studying WSET for wine tastings etc (still to be arranged). I've also looked to use the time to knock some of the items off my bucket list...tonight was my first swimming lesson (whilst a strong swimmer freestyle has always eluded me), and Claire and I have taken up yoga...when you're away like this it's good to feel a bit like you're in a routine and part of local life.
Hope life is treating you all well...would be great to keep hearing from you all and what's happening in your worlds...imperative to not feeling disconnected when away for a few months. Xx
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