Look out Lucy and Ethel.  There’s a new clumsy, bumbling assembly line worker looking to take your comic crowns.  No, it’s not Laverne or Shirley.  It’s me.  And I’m not trying to shove chocolate in my mouth or down my shirt (although that sounds like it might be a good idea), and I’m not putting my glove on a bottle of “Shotz Beer” and waving goodbye.  

I’m on the wine assembly line in Acampo, California at Housley’s Century Oak Winery.

I arrived at Century Oak, near Lodi very early on a Saturday morning to help out with bottling their 2007 Chardonnay and 2006 Lodi Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.  I wasn’t the only one.  When I arrived, at least 20 friends and relatives of the Housley family were there to help too.  Even more enthusiastic helpers trickled in as the day wore on.  Bottling day at Century Oak is always like this.  People drive in from out of town and even fly in from out of state to take part in this big bottling party.

And it is a party.  There’s tons of food, socializing and of course… WINE.  The ever changing buffet starts with breakfast fare and then mid-morning snacks.  Once the afternoon rolls around, the barbequing begins.

But back to our main purpose:  bottling wine.

The Housleys hire Mike Tarnowski of Calaveras Mobile Bottler to bring his self-contained bottling, labeling and corking trailer extraordinaire onto the property.  The volunteer helpers jump aboard the trailer and get to work.

This mobile wine bottler is amazing.  It fills the bottles with wine.  It corks the bottles.  It labels the bottles.  It also seals aluminum foil over the top of the bottles.

My job was to put the aluminum foil “cap” on the neck of the already corked bottle.  Sounds easy right?  I’m sure it is easy for someone who actually has coordination and skills.  I unfortunately do not possess these basic gifts.  

I have to tell you I was so nervous!  I’ve done some pretty extraordinary things in my life.  But for some reason, I couldn’t put a stinkin’ piece of aluminum foil on top of a bottle of wine that was flying past me at 100 miles an hour!  Ok, I’m exaggerating…a little.  But that’s when the visions of Lucy and Ethel ran through my mind.

I eventually caught on.  Thankfully, there were so many helpers that I got booted off the bottling trailer after about an hour, so someone else could get their chance to pitch in.

The Housley’s are a busy bunch and today is no different.  Art Housley (Dad) is running this bottling bonanza.  Art takes a few minutes to show me around.  Art is the Cellar Master.  He swears he’s semi-retired, but I’m not buying it.  Neither does his family.  Art and the family have been the vineyard business for almost 30 years, providing premium wine grapes to various wineries.  Their first vineyards were in the Napa Valley.  In the mid-1990’s, they acquired vineyards in the Lodi/Woodbridge region of California.  The Housleys opened Century Oak Winery in 2001.

Art is extremely busy supervising the bottling, but takes time to talk to friends.  I asked Art about his “graffiti fridge.”  The refrigerator reminds me of the Partridge Family bus.  But Art wasn’t spilling the beans.  If you get a change to visit Century Oak, maybe he’ll tell you the story.



Judy Housley (Mom) is also busy at work keeping the food coming (the most important job in my humble opinion).  She also works on the bottling line for a while, despite the fact that she’s getting knee surgery in just a few days.  Judy does all the bookkeeping for her family’s business and is busy being a grandma.

The Housley family also owns and operates two grocery stores called, “Ranch Markets” located in Napa and Yountville.  Younger son, Arik runs the stores.  Arik is also Vice President and Marketing Director for Century Oak.  His parents won’t stop bragging about how Arik is the true wine expert in the family.  But today, Arik is the BBQ guy.



Of course my first question is, “when can I drink the “fruit of MY labor?”  Arik explains the concept of bottle shock.  I had heard the term, but really wasn’t sure what it was.  Here’s the definition according to Wikipedia:   

Bottle-shock or Bottle sickness is a temporary condition of wine characterized by muted or disjointed fruit flavors.  It occurs immediately after bottling or when wines (usually fragile wines) are shaken in travel.  After several months the condition usually disappears.  Specifically, bottle-shock is caused by excessive oxygen introduction during the latter stages of the winemaking process.  It may result in a one dimensional flavor profile.
 
Here’s my definition:

When you put a goldfish in new water, the little guy gets freaked out and kinda sickly for a few days.  Then, you wake up one morning and Mr. Goldfish is back to his happy, fishy self.  I guess it’s the same with wine when it goes from the barrel to the bottle… kinda.

Bottom line… I have to wait several months before I can drink MY wine.  Patience is another quality I do not possess.
Arik also explains that even after wine settles from bottle shock, it still changes.  “A bottle of wine is like its own little microcosm,” says Arik.  “If you have a bottle you love, six months later you may not like it.  But then in two months you love it again.  Wine is constantly changing.  You just have to go with it.”

Just like wine, life is constantly changing for Arik’s older brother, Adam Housley.  Adam is a network correspondent for Fox News and is always traveling around the country and around the world to cover news stories.  Yes, Adam is one of those crazy guys you see on the news who gets blown around by hurricane force winds, yet tells everyone else to evacuate.

Despite Adam’s busy schedule, he is still very involved in his family’s wine business and is President of Century Oak.  

This bottling party is special for Adam because he is also celebrating his birthday.  While some of the bottling fools are on a break, the birthday boy heads up the wine tasting and tells us about each bottle of Century Oak Vino he pours.
    

My favorite is the Century Oak 2003 Reserve Cabernet ($22.95).  But the guy next to me insists that the 2004 Old Vine Zinfandel ($15.95) is the best.  I have to admit the Zin is good, but I still love my Cab.

All of the Century Oak wines are delish.  The winery has won numerous awards.  Yet their wines are still very affordable.  My favorite, the Reserve Cabernet is the most expensive.  The most affordable wine they offer is the award winning Century Oak 2005 Founder’s Rose’ at just $7.95 a bottle.  Thus, the Housleys’ motto:  “Not all expensive wines are great, not all great wines are expensive.”

The wines that were at bottled at this particular party should be available for sale in spring of 2009.  The 2007 Chardonnay (which I took home and can’t wait to try) will probably sell for $9.95.  The 2006 Estate Cab will probably sell for $15.95.

For more information about Housley’s Century Oak Winery, check out their website.  Or if you are lucky enough to be in the area, you can stop by the Century Oak Winery and Tasting Room located at 22211 N. Lower Sacramento Road, Acampo, California

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment