Grape Sorting

This past week the vineyards in the area have been busy with harvest.  Vista Hills has finally started picking and hopefully will be done soon.  On Friday we spend a few hours at Panther Creek Cellars sorting grapes, this was a fun hands on experience.  Tons of grapes were delivered to the cellars and all of them had to be processed through the conveyer belt and our hands.  We looked for any signs of mold on the grapes, under ripeness, tainted grapes and items other than grapes (leaves, rocks, bugs...).  We had to work fast and not be afraid to get wet, cold and dirty.  Compared to the tasting room work this was an incredibly different experience.  Though by the end I could barely feel my hands from cold it was a lot of fun and a great first hand experience of another stage of wine.