This morning, our winemaker, Fred Holloway told me we'd be receiving a couple of new open top fermenting tanks around 10am if I'd like to take pictures of the installation. We're really happy with the results we're seeing with the new tanks (more about that later), so I wasn't surprised to hear we were adding a few more to the tank farm. Part of my job at the winery is to take pictures of everything. Literally everything. It is not uncommon to see me wandering around the vineyard following our workers around snapping photos of them pruning, weeding, picking, etc. as I attempt to talk to them in my (extremely) broken Spanish. I'm also responsible for taking photos of large trade groups, winery events (if you make it out for our Annual Wine Society Gala - and you should! - you will definitely see me walking around with a camera around my neck), construction projects, and anything else of interest that happens at the winery.
Typically I wear jeans and flats nearly 5 days every week. There's a reason for that. It's just not practical for me to dress up when I could get bright purple juice splattered all over me or if I have to go climbing up to the top of a pyramid of barrels to get a good shot of the Barrel Chai. (If you've ever been here for a Guest Chef Dinner, there's a 90% chance you'll see me early in the night atop my perch, camera in hand, snapping away a few shots of the tables.)
Today, of course, I decided not to wear my typical uniform of jeans and flats...I wore a skirt and heels. To get the best pictures of the tank installation, I needed to walk the catwalk...and I'm not talking about the runway catwalk, I'm talking about a metal grate 20-60 feet high (or so) with stairs. Did I mention it was breezy today? It was a bit like this:
So now that I've disclosed my embarrassing Marilyn moment, I thought you might also enjoy some photos from the tank installation. It's pretty amazing how just two guys are able to unload and move into place these heavy tanks in a matter of minutes.
The tank is hooked up to the crane, hoisted into the air and moved into place. (That's our tour guide Jim in the red shirt waving at the camera. He was just about to give the 10:30 tour as the tanks were being installed so he came over to check it out.)
The tank is moved into place using the crane and then lowered down and released.
