Winemaker 101: a Day in the Life

We were recently struck by two moments of clarity. The scene is a popular Malibu dining establishment where some of the ‘Bu winemakers hang. Our company that evening was Napa winemaker Jim Moore of Uvaggio who at one point was having a conversation about grapes with a local Pinot producer. She asked how many cases he made in 2009 and he said 6,000, “a small number.” He asked and she answered she made 45 cases in 09 to which Jim replied “that’s a hobby isn’t it?” Later the same week when I called Jim on the phone he asked me to call back because he was “loading a truck with cases.” Got me to thinking…what is it like to be a full time winemaker on a day to day basis in 2010? (more…)