A Weekend of Crush & Ballooning

Rather than alerting you to something up and coming, I decided to report on what was an absolutely amazing weekend in Washington Wine Country for the crush holiday. Several wonderful events were happening the last weekend in September including the Catch the Crush holiday throughout the Columbia Valley AVA , the Prosser Balloon Rally and Street Painting Festival, all of which I had the pleasure of attending.

Right now, the wineries are buzzing with excitement, literally! I discovered that the bees are plentiful on the crush pads and are doing their best to get their taste of the fruit. I was amazed to watch workers go along with their business of pouring large containers of grapes into the destemmer in the midst of the "buzz." I also learned quite a bit about the Crush process.

New grapes being delivered to a winery aren't something they can sit on. They must be processed right away. If they're handpicked they can last a little longer; nonetheless, time is of the essence. Often, white wine grapes are pressed "whole cluster," meaning they go directly into the press without being destemmed. Red wine grapes; however are first destemmed and then crushed. Normally a pump is used to transfer the grapes into tanks where they ferment for 7-10 days. During this time, winemakers perform "punch downs" three times a day to stir up the grapes, extract color and flavor from the skins and stimulate the fermentation process.

I caught up with friend and winemaker Charlie Hoppes of Fidelitas to learn more about the Crush process.

"I taste during fermentation to find the very best time to remove the skins from the fermentation," says Hoppes, "usually because I have found the ideal flavor profile that I am looking for." 

After fermentation, the juice is literally siphoned out of the tank and into the barrels where it will be aged and await bottling.

"Once we press the wine to barrel, the aging process starts," continued Hoppes. "We usually age wines for 18 – 24 months depending on the variety and style of wine we are trying to make. Much maintenance and upkeep are required during those barrel aging months."

This is the long and dutiful process that the Crush holiday celebrates. It's one of transformation, a labor of love that grows into a passionate art form resulting in Washington wines, some of the most magnificent wines in the world. And it is this time of year that brings visitors from near and far to visit their favorite wineries during Catch the Crush so they can possibly catch a glimpse of this magical time and maybe even take part in it.

On this same weekend each year, other festivities are underway as well. Prosser holds the annual Prosser Balloon Rally which is also tied into their downtown Street Painting Festival. This year I got up bright and early and headed to the airport grounds in Prosser before dawn. It was a chilly 43 degrees but it didn't keep those loyal ballooning fans from coming out to observe and hopefully help out. With coffee in hand, we walked the grounds as balloon crews readied for take off. We could catch a bit of warmth if we stood just behind the baskets while they pumped the envelopes full of hot air.

It was amazing to see the balloons at different stages, some being spread out on large tarps, others being held by lines as they slowly filled with air and rose from the ground. Just at the right moment, the pilot would topple back into the basket as the final push of air sent the craft upright. Crews would hold the lines while the pilot made adjustments, pulled guests into the basket and readied for take off. Then, off they went!  All around us balloons were ascending at different levels.

As soon as their balloons were off and floating, crews loaded into their trucks, trailers and jeeps to follow their balloon for pick-up. If the winds cooperated, many of the more skilled pilots would take a dip into the Yakima River and quickly ascend again. Spectators lined the bridges to watch the exciting river dipping ritual while others stood back and simply observed the colorful morning sky display of some 50 balloons floating through the air just as the sun was fully risen. It was truly breathtaking!

Saturday night many of the ballooners once again congregated on airport grounds for Night Glow. A local band sets the tone as the balloons fill and show off their colors with each blazing pull of the cord.

That day also marked the start of Prosser's downtown Street Painting Festival where artists come from near and far to make their mark on the streets using chalk pastels. Local businesses sponsored a square on the street for each artist. Vendors lined the roped off streets with art, hand-made crafts, baked goods and pony rides. The artists' creations were done by the fair's ending on Sunday. By the end of the day, the work is washed away for a new work week.

From Juice, The latest on Washington Wine Country, October 2006

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