HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving weekend! I've had 4 days off and it has been sooo nice to be off of work. We had a great Thanksgiving at the Ritz. We started with a carrot soup....and ended with pumpkin cheesecake...yummy! Only 3 days left til I leave :( But my trip cross country is going to be awesome so stay tuned!

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

Harvest party

The end is near indeed. Just a photo of our harvest party. 4 days of work left. Sad but good. Unfortunately each intern had to give an impromptu speech....wasn't really prepared for that one! Did get a signed magnum of 2005 Jerusalem Hill pinot though! Hmmmm, who will get to share it with me?

Beach weekend!

Our first weekend off since the beginning of harvest. We were so excited. Finally I remembered what it felt like to enjoy a saturday afternoon! Myself and a couple of the interns headed to Lincoln city, the weather was typical oregon....cooler and a little overcast, but it was beautiful for sure! Rented a house and enjoyed the beach.....good times!

Rite of passage

Well I got to dig out my first tank! I have mostly been in the lab and not too involved with the cellar work since there is so much to do lab wise, but I was told I had to dig out a tank. So, I did. It was alot of fun. Kind of reminded me of shovelling snow when i was a kid and we would solicit all the neighbors for jobs. I had to get hooked up to a harness just in case I passed out from too much CO2 - this way they could pull me out. Also wore an O2 meter, as a warning, so I could get out before I passed out. We have open top fermentors, so I was not so worried, but safety is always best :) Just in case you were wondering, you shovel out the skins in the tank after fermentation is complete and you have drained off all of the juice. Then the skins go into the press.

Interns gone wild

This is what happens when

1) You work too much

2) You drink too much grain alcohol and 151

3) You live with an Italian named Loris

Halloween Party #2

So party #2 was being thrown by us, however, we were told we weren't allowed to have the party at our house, so the boys that got us in trouble for having the bonfire and hence why we can't have people over anymore, offered their house for our party (sorry long story).

Since we have a reputation to uphold, I of course made jello shots in varying levels of toxicity, and we made a stellar punch with dry ice lifted from the winery. Needless to say with the vodka, 151 rum and everclear used in our concoctions everyone had fun! Since I was the oktoberfest beer wench, I drank german beer all night...and of course a few jello shots (after all I made them!). Since Zack was still wearing my dress I felt he also needed to add make-up to his costume. He gladly said yes and I got to put eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, and lipstick on him. He said no to the nail polish though...oh well, maybe next year. I also got to paint rob's clown makeup on both nights and liz's make-up friday...boy were they too trusting!

Night shift was supposed to get off at 12pm, so they could join us, but had too much work to do. Can't wait til everyone is on the same shift again, so everyone can have fun together again!

If you can't tell, the pink finger is from the jello shots.

Halloween party #1

We had a long day at work but we were still super stoked to dress up and celebrate halloween. We went to a neighboring intern house for a small gathering. Since most hadn't really had much time to plan costumes (too busy working), I found two of my roomates costumes from my closet...namely dresses and wigs. Can you guess who I am?

Dolly Parton in working 9 to 5! We stopped by the winery to say hi to nightshift before we were off, but we at least left them with a present.

The Aussies find a new holiday

So, since I am the biggest Halloween celebrator and I wasn't going to be home this year for it, I had to get all my roomates involved in my favorite holiday. That meant planning a party, getting decorations, and of course pumpkin carving!!! Our vineyard manager brought us to his uncle's pumpkin patch late one night after work so we scored free pumpkins! The night of the pumpkin carving everyone was pretty sleepy, but I convinced my two Australian roomates to carve pumpkins with me. Now they love halloween (they never celebrated the holiday before obviously). My pumpkin is the one on the right. I decided to give him ears.

My home in the lab...

Thought I would share a photo of what I have been doing every day.....lots of spec work! Ammonia, Primary Amino, Glucose/Fructose, and Malic! Do you like my cuvette?

Last day of fruit

I know, I am a bit late again. But last thursday was our last day of fruit. We brought in the rest of the chardonnay! Here's a photo of the champagne toast to celebrate our accomplishments taken with the day staff. Sadly our night crew buddies are not in the photo :( We are a bunch of misfits though, that's for sure!