Yeah Baby, Labels!

Today was a good day. A crazy day but a good one. First things first. Tim and I started moving all the tasting room "stuff" down to the Events Facility on the lake. Wine, paperwork, glasses, dump buckets, display stands, shirts, food and wine (did I already mention wine?). We will be serving wine at the other location until Memorial Day Weekend. Since I didn't have enough table cloths to cover everything, I will go down tomorrow and take care of the rest of the stuff.

Bottling will happen tomorrow. Rob was a flutter getting everything ready. He does things so quietly you hardly know he's there. I learned today he likes the old roller derby. He used to go watch the LA Thunderbirds. There ya go...one of Rob's hot buttons! He also has some friends that are musicians. One plays the accordion for "Mood Area 52". He knows a lot about a lot of things.

Chef's Night Out was fun. It was nice meeting other people in the business, seeing people I haven't seen since I got out of the wedding business, and just having wonderful food. People really enjoyed themselves. I have to tell a few food tales: the steak tartare from Marche was great, the smoked lamb from King Estate, breathtaking, the liver pate from Zenon, smooth and rich, the burgers from Koho, fabulous. Too many more to mention. The desserts were amazing, I love those little gals from Sweet Life, they can bake, yum. I didn't eat one dessert that I didn't absolutely enjoy. I got up this morning and went on a bike ride to burn off some of the calories. I should say something about the wine; the local wineries were well represented, unfortunately, there were distributors offering California and Washington wine, disgrace! All is fair in love and wine!

Now, about the labels. First, the Pinot Noir labels that we have so impatiently been waiting for are ready. Tomorrow will be labeling day for me. Tim will be helping with bottling. I'll get enough labeled for our distributor to pick up. Second, I think we have a redesigned label that will work for us...finally. I ran into Eugene and got the new proof sheets. I got back and spent the next 2 hours talking to my parents. Mom thought the labels were a nice compromise but Dad was not convinced. I think with all the talking maybe for once I have worn him down. He finally said that he had nothing to lose and we can always tweak it again in a few years. I will move ahead from here. It is a relief but one that I am still a little uneasy about until the first redesigned labels go to print.

I will order bottles for the first time tomorrow. I couldn't purchase from a nicer person, Shelly Schafer from Richards Packaging. She's a sweetheart. She tracked me down today to get me some bottle samples. Lovely bottles and fair prices. Tomorrow will be a first!

I will pray for sunshine tomorrow, smooth bottling, work for completed tasks and happiness in my heart. Maybe a nice glass of wine at the end of the day!