Zinfandel Estate in the Dry Creek Ravine, near Healdsburg California

This was a tricky one. A big building with siding all dark brown. Morning fog becomes dew on siding, light bulbs inside vary from tasting room (warm yellow), offices (daylight LED's), and the production facility (bright white, almost blue-white).

It was pretty fun to shoot after dark, they let us do whatever we wanted with lights and we tried some different things.

I remember it was just before halloween. Architects almost always want photos free of seasonal indications. The space needs to handle all seasons, all climates, for all people everywhere. Designers want to display their fall color scheme and would do a whole new photo shoot for spring. And engineers want the place empty. Its funny how consistent that really is.

Moving the decorations was a non starter, turned out. Apparently a local designer had staged it in advance of the engineer contracting the photographer. So pumpkins are in! Steve was a easy guy to work with and as it turned out he didn't mind the pumpkins one bit.

This is where it got pretty interesting for me. Chris (pictured below) told us a few things about their process, including about Roman techniques using concrete urns. Apparently there is a new (old) technique using these egg shaped tanks. Concrete allows wine to breathe without imparting an oak flavour. For delicate wines like zinfandels or chardonnays, the oak can sometimes be a bit too much. A heavy syrah in new oak is a powerful horse and not really like a zinfandel done in an urn.

I see why he says they need to be cellared for a couple years. The business side of the vineyard needs to sell units to keep the doors open, but as Chris says, some of these tender wines need to age for a little while more. Its not a muddiness necessarily, maybe just some extra business or an unsettled chorus. We have no cellar so we opened his gift at a birthday party a few weeks later. I don't really know much about wine, but I can begin to imagine what a 12 year old bottle would be like.

That's Chris. He so fun. Always be smiling.

If you've read this far, first, thank you. Secondly, if I may I ask, are you more interested in photos, locations, or rogue tales of strange and unbridled lands?