riverECHO

One mountain bike has arrived and we are waiting on another. Currently we can take turns on the one, but neither one of us has been motivated to leave the other person behind. The other bike will show up soon enough and we can’t wait. The bikes are exactly the same year and model . . . would you expect anything different from two people who dress alike and have the same of everything? Although they have a little less travel than the bikes we left at home, I don’t think we will be complaining too much once we are riding them. We already have a list of biking trails that we want to explore.

Meanwhile, I have taken up a bit of volunteer work at a local winery called Mount Edward. Kind of random I suppose, but I thought it would be fun to learn a little bit about how wine is made since it is such a big industry down here. I’ve only spent two afternoons there so far helping add sulfur to all the ba rrels of pinot noir. We also sampled some chardonnay yesterday (as this is their first year making chardonnay) to see how the lot was coming along in barrels where they had used different techniques. Don’t think I was drinking on the job though, we all spit it out after smelling it and swishing it around in our mouths. Duncan, my “boss,” is helping me in my ability to describe wine, a skill which seems to take either years of experience or some real bull$#!^ing. All I have been able to do so far is say what I like and what I don’t like. To help me learn, Duncan sent me away with a homework assignment . . . 3 bottles of pinot noir, all from different vintages (2005, 2006, and 2007) . . . hardly homework. I am supposed to come back next week with a short speech prepared on their differences. If only we had homework like this in college.