The Art Of Moving Wine Barrels

We started moving our barrels from the old place to the new earlier in the week. At this stage all full barrels have been moved, & only a few empties remain to be hauled over.

So what is it like to move full barrels of wine down a serpentine road? It is stressful to be sure, & here is a photo of Robin holding all that remains of two barrels of vintage 2009 Viognier:

 

With a small bump in the road, the Viognier took a vaulting shot off of the back of Gonzo’s truck rounding the turn just past the entrance to Tablas Creek Winery, flying off into the creek itself where I can only hope that the 120 gallons of lovely Viognier gave the turtles & frogs grand pleasure. Perhaps the Viognier, being a Rhone variety, simply wanted to stay at Tablas Creek, which is about as close to Rhone away from France as you can get. Ah well, a dribble or two sacrificed to the sottish gods may serve to help balance out the odd peccadillo remaining on account.

In any event the remaining 500 or so barrels arrived safely at the new digs, but not without a few moments of freight & fear. That said, the process is rather simple. First you stack barrels on the back of a flat bed truck, & then you strap them down securely so that they don’t go flying off into Tablas Creek. Then you drive off. Slowly.

Here are some photos to help illustrate the process. The first shot is of Gonzo arriving with a load of 48 barrels. I wonder why he is looking back at the ground behind the truck? For errant barrels perhaps? Robin follows in the car at the rear picking up the remnants:

 

Then the untangling of the load takes place, with straps released & tie-down racks removed:

 

A stack of 4 barrels is set on the lip of the hatchway; not too close to the edge one hopes:

 

A view from the barrel room floor below:

 

And finally snagging the foursome to ease them into their new home, a world of quiet peace & tranquility following their dread-filled trip:

Comments

[Shabnam]

seems like you are having fun!
like how you complicated the bringing in the barrels parts, just so you could play with your forklift more!