At Home in a New Rhythm: 2021 Gamay
A lot has changed in the months leading up to today’s release of 2021 Color Collector Gamay. At times, I felt like I might be on a survivor show for small business owners: “In the next season of Ultimate Survivor Entrepreneurs contestants battle weather, equipment failures, supply chain issues, and license applications to build a homestead and winery on raw land in rural Washington.”
I’ve been challenged to figure out things that I never imagined I’d learn much less considered important to winemaking: how to replace the alternator in a forklift; how to sink a well pump; what is a reverse action pressure switch? There have been moments of frustration as well as breakthroughs and accomplishments.
Throughout it, I kept these words by the poet John O’Donohue close:
Though your destination is not yet clear You can trust the promise of this opening; Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning That is at one with your life's desire. Awaken your spirit to adventure; Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk; Soon you will be home in a new rhythm, For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
And now, after years of squeezing into corners in other (generous) people’s cellars, I am making wine in my own winery for the first time. To practice my craft in my own space feels like a flower unfurling its petals. Virginia Wolf would love this simple, imperfect room of my own. It inspires expansive creativity and gives my project renewed purpose and focus. In the quiet of early mornings and late nights working alone under a big sky, the voice of the wine is clear and resonant.
From this calm after the storm comes new wine - the first to go into bottle in the barely christened winery. The 2021 Gamay is like being at home in a new rhythm. It is Color Collector’s purest expression of last year’s picture-perfect vintage and is a style of Gamay I want to make (and drink) over and over again. This new release comes from a single 500L puncheon barrel, which stood out to me as special every time I tasted it over its 10-month élevage. The fruit is pristine, bursting with electric energy and the mouth-watering juiciness Gamay does best. The acid holds it all on a tightrope, giving the wine levity and precision.
Since this single barrel was consistently so unique and complete that I had to bottle it on its own, there are only 50 cases. It is a wine I believe will evolve in your cellar for years, but it is delicious fresh and young as well.
Stay tuned for the classic Color Collector Gamay and another special, festive wine coming soon. We’ll stay awake to adventure and hold nothing back.
P.S. A Note on Logistics:
Current weather (November 2022) is conducive to shipping, so if you place a shipping order soon expect it to go out via UPS Ground the following Monday. Let me know if you’d like to discuss expedited shipping options or need me to hold your wine for any reason (including consolidation with other new releases coming soon.)
Plans are in the works for a more consistent and convenient pick up location, but to increase ease for pick up orders in the short term, pick up time-slots are available every Sunday from 12:00 – 4:00. Please contact me at bk@tccollector.com in advance of your visit so I can make an appointment for you and provide you with detailed directions. Let me know if you’d like to discuss local delivery or pick up on a different day.
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