Read Between The Vines

I learned a new word the other day from my coworkers, “cajones”.  Two of them were talking in Spanish back and forth about cajones.  The word sounded familiar to me, and then it click… Were they being vulgar and talking about testicles?  When you worked around all males all day there can be some vulgar conversations, but they seemed to be talking about it like they were discussing footwear.

So I asked what the word meant, and this is what they told me (and so not to step out of the vulgarity of working with all men)…  The “cajones” they were talking about were the bins in which the grapes had arrived in, and they were discussing how many bins were arriving.  I was apparently thinking of “cojones” which is the east coast term of testicles.  West coast, we say “heuvos” as in “mucho jamón por dos huevos” when describing a portly woman.

I must agree this is not necessarily the useful information that one would look for in a blog about wine, but you never know; one day you could find yourself at a winery and over hear someone’s conversation about cajones, and you now won’t embarrase yourself by making the same mistake of thinking they were being rude.  There could also be a situation where someone says “mucho jamón por dos huevos” about you or someone you know, in which case maybe it would have been better if you didn’t know what it meant.  Well, I’m only the messenger.

I truly enjoy my job, and I have a pretty good reason why; this job reminds me of the great times I have had back in college.

I went to one of the top party colleges back in the day, UC Santa Barbara.  I joined a fraternity, made some great friends, went to a lot of “social gatherings,” and I think I even attended class every once in a while.  I was very disappointed to leave, but would visit from time to time (while I was still single).  My experience at Santa Barbara is exactly what you would expect college to be like.

After college I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.  I had this degree in chemistry, but the thought of working in a lab all day long seemed mind-numbingly boring.  I applied as a harvest intern at a local winery because I knew I was qualified, and maybe I would get to taste some wine.

After working at the winery for a few years I have notice a few similarities to my time in college…

1. I drink like a fish.  I think at one point I was up to at least 1/2 a bottle of wine a night.  The other workers and myself instituted a daily drinking gathering where we each pitched in for a case of beer.

2. I swear the winemaker has tried to haze me during my initiating into the winery.  On one particular afternoon he asked me to go through some barrels and score them so we can separate them.  I went through 40 barrels, tasting every single one.  I was practically crawling back to the office when he told me I could score them on smell alone.

3.  The winery parties were like fraternity/sorority socials.  The entire production side of the winery is all men, the entire business side (with the exception of the owner) is all women.  We will get together on anniversaries of the employees, employees leaving, end of harvest and Christmas (or pre-winter break), and the winery has put together some pretty good parties.  Not to mention all of the wine events we would go to pour at.

4. I still can’t get away from going to class.  I have so far gone to a conference on sanitation practices, federal tax compliance, and have even taken a test for pesticide use and forklift driving.

5.  And just like college, we know how to have fun!  I have created some good relationships with my coworkers, and I have some pretty good stories to share.

We’re back… we had to go through some reorganizing, but we’re up and running again, and starting all over from scratch.  Which also means we can refocus and maybe even have somewhat of a regular posting schedule.

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