Central Texas Wine Guild

2009 Crush Overview

Overview
Our intent is to purchase quality grape fruit and juice from a reputable grape broker for the purpose of home wine making. We have had great success with M&M several years in a row, and will attempt to use them again this year.

Both members and non-members are welcome to participate in the Central Texas Wine Guild Group Grape Purchase and Crush, and to cast their vote (read: dollars) for particular varietals in the group purchase. The final decision is at the discretion of the Organizer who is talking to the broker. At this time, that is Jon Loeliger. He can be bought.

The overall process will go like this:

• We start arm wrestling for varietals on the CTWG list
• I try to track it and create a spreadsheet of the mess
• Your desire for grape is meaningless and your money only pads my coffers until you sign the release form, attached below
• Money will be collected in advance
• Fruit and juice will be delivered to a cold storage facility
• We'll move it to the crush site
• Everyone shows up at the crush site to make a mess and eat dinner
• Everyone then helps clean up the mess and dinner
• Everyone shows appreciation to our hosts
• Everyone goes home happy with juice and must!

Again this year, I would like to have a Crush Shift Sign-up Sheet where people volunteer for a time-slot at the crusher, lifting lugs, handling empty lugs, and cleanup duties. That is, you should help do something! A volunteer to manage this would be welcome.

Email Management
No discussion of price will occur on a public mail list. The CTWG list hosted on Google Groups is public. A separate, private list address will host any discussion of cost. To get on or off that list, you send a request to jdl. The list is broadcast to all members of that list.

Some discussion, not involving money, might happen on the main CTWG list hosted on Google Groups.

Varietals
Our intent is to purchase at least two red varietals. Likely, and if quantity permits, we might have a third red. We will try to obtain a white varietal as well. In 2009, we picked up 5 reds and 3 whites.

The selection of varietals is subject to reasonably coincident locality in time and space. That is, we're not going to get one varietal from Sonoma, one from Lodi, wait two weeks, and pick up a third from Paso Robles. Plan on same region, and within a couple days harvest of each other. Large influence here from what the broker suggests is possible as supplier.

If possible we will target lots of one pallet per varietal. A pallet is about 45 to 50 lugs. Those lugs might be RPC (reusable plastic container) lugs, or they might be wooden lugs. with a slightly different pallet count.

You will buy fruit by the lug. A lug is 36-lbs of grape. Two lugs will get you about 5 gallons, maybe a little less, maybe a little more. It depends on a lot of factors such as the varietal, maceration, pressing, etc.

In 2008, 2009 and 2010, we purchased white varietals as juice in 55 gal barrels and distributed it directly into buckets and carboys. It worked reasonably well. This year, to make it work better, we'll bring the right drum plug wrench!

Grape Purchase
Your request or order for grapes will be ignored until you fill out and return a signed Release form to me and I have it in my possession. The Release form is attached below. Other formats of the document might be available.

All money will be collected in advance of the actual purchase from both Guild members and non-members. Likely, this will be a check or cash to the Organizer. In prior years, Jon collected all money and provided spread-sheet accounting.

Grapes will be charged a per-lug fee as determined by the broker per varietal, plus any pro-rated shipping charges divided equally per-lug and per-gallon as well. Shipping will be charged by the broker and might also include the cost of going to pick up the grapes at a semi-local cold-storage drop off site. Gas, in case you haven't noticed yet, isn't cheap again this year.

An additional nominal, flat fee may be charged for non-Guild members to participate in the group purchase. In 2009, we thought about requesting $10.

A "Thank you!" donation for the employees of the host company where we held our crush would be appreciated.

As per our agreement with the broker, we will not discuss the precise cost of our grapes in a public forum nor on a public mail list. Private discussion is acceptable. Note that the main CTWG on Google groups list is public.

Delivery
Let's understand one thing. It's a crop, harvested in another state when the Brix has reached its zenith and the pH is in the house of Aquarius, packed by moon-light, collected with other crops, packaged and warehoused, trucked across state lines, delivered to third-party cold storage facilities that might be in a different city, with delivery status communicated over the Infobahn using tattooed squirrels.

That is, there's no guarantee when the grapes will arrive. And we really don't know what shape they will be in. One year, it was mid-September and the grapes were in really, really good shape. Early October has been common too. But past performance is not an indicator of future performance. Or something.

We will have, at most, 3 days notice of their arrival. Which will in turn set the crush date. The one certainty in this process is that you can rely on it NOT happening on the first date that I announce. The packers lie to the broker, the broker lies to me, I lie to you. You know.

The crush date is NOT likely to be a weekend. One year it was, like, a Monday, as we needed to pick up our grapes from a cold storage facility during normal business hours.

It is expected that you are "on call" and will be able to pick up your grapes on the day of the crush. There is no further storage facility available.

And we're not going to store your grapes.

If you are not present to pick up your grape, and we are not able to contact you, or have not heard from you, your grapes will be designated as "Overage" and distributed.

You are welcome to make "extra" arrangements as needed. We don't care if you send your ex-wife's cousin Luigi to pick them up. But we want to know about that in advance so that we don't distribute your grape under the "Overage" clause.

And we're not going to store your grapes.

Overage
In the event that more lugs arrived than were contracted and desired according to the original schedule, they will be made available in the following priority:

• Anyone present at the crush who wants grape but did not originally sign up for any at all.
• Anyone who was signed up for and paid for a different varietal but for whatever reason was shorted some.
• Anyone who got a significantly small quantity, but would reasonably benefit from an additional lug or two.
• A rock-scissors-paper pair-wise tournament per-lug with elimination of winners until all would-be-takers have won a lug, at which point the tourney is again repeated for all takers.

To be eligible and to receive additional lugs, you must have cash on hand to purchase them on the spot. Or, you must have an honest face and be convincing enough that you are "Good For It". No, really.

Lest you think this clause is weird or unnecessary, one year we had a packing snafu and an entire extra pallet was delivered to us.

Shortage
In the event that fewer lugs have arrived than were contracted or desired according to the original schedule, we will first attempt to rectify the shortage with the broker. Failing that, or in the event of communication failure, misunderstanding, transit problems or outright confusion, we will attempt to equalize the lug distribution as follows:

• Anyone with a disproportionately large percentage of the fruit will be kindly requested to yield a few lugs to anyone who signed up for, but got no fruit at all. They will not be obliged to yield any, however.
• A general plea will be made for anyone willing to forego a lug or two to anyone who signed up for, but got no fruit at all.

The underlying goal is that everyone who signed up for fruit should get some, even if that means we steal a little from the rich to accommodate them. In these cases, it is expected that appropriate payoffs and bribes will happen in back rooms and bars between the affected parties.

Lest you think this clause is weird or unnecesary, one year we had a packing snafu and an entire pallet was missing from our order due to a truck loading problem. Ultimately, our supplier happily rectified the problem by shipping us an equivalent amount of, get this, better quality frozen must buckets. Everyone was happy!

The Crush
Both Guild members and non-members are welcome to take their grapes as whole cluster, or to participate in the Group Crush that we will organize and carry out. In either event, all fruit will be dispersed at the crush.

We don't know exactly when this will take place. The Organizer will make every effort to communicate updates on a timely basis. It is likely that we will have about 3 days notice. It is likely that it will be on the day that the fruit is delivered, though possibly the next day. Monday evening has been popular after a Friday notification of shipment.

The crush will be in Austin, likely at the Usual Warehouse or in someone's driveway starting "after work" and going until Oh-dark-thirty. One year, it was roughly 4:00pm until midnight by the time we had it all cleaned up again. In 2009 and 2010. the crush was at the business location of one of the Guild Members.

Both members and non-members will be asked to support the use of private equipment (crushers, etc) by making a $1 or $2 per lug additional contribution. Similarly, a small voluntary contribution (cash and or wine/beer) to for the dock workers and the warehouse owners is appreciated.

There is a non-negotiable cost to participate in the crush: you must bring food or side dish to share around and either a six-pack of non-bad brew, home-brew or wine to share around. We're not messing around here. Remember, it takes a lot of beer to make good wine!

And we're going to have fun, dammit.