Winemaking is a sensory-filled process. When you walk into the winery during harvest, you are inundated with stimulation in all of your senses. The sights of beautiful fruit and winemaking teamwork coupled with the living smells of fermentation are carried by the heartbeat of harvest, the playlist.
The priorities during harvest are cleanliness, strong coffee, cold beer and a musical timeline to keep your eyes open and toes tapping. The art of curating the perfect playlist is a task that is not taken lightly. After hour ten in the work day, and you’re cleaning tanks, there is nothing better than the right song the fill your ears and keep you going.
We recently asked our Winemaking Team to give us their playlist philosophies and go-to’s for the 2017 harvest, check them out below.
Brian Irvine, Winemaker: I just like to have a good flow depending on the time of the day…..chill mornings, upbeat/funky midday, rocking/Beasties type towards the end of the day to help us clean with purpose. The moral of the cellar dictate what we play. When the playlist is right you don’t notice it, it’s just right, you’re feeling the vibe. We must fight our Pacific Northwest heritage and take a stand, no depressing grunge when people are dragging!
Personal harvest favorites over the years – Muse (Uprising), Black Seeds, Funk Pandora, Michael Jackson, Beastie Boys,
Colby Looney, Lab Tech: I change the music based on the vibe in the cellar, or if there is a cellar tour, or if the bossman is in the house, but some solid picks are: Poolside, Beck, Chet Faker, The Polish Ambassador, 80’s (all of it), James Brown.
Joe Van Dyke, Cellar Master: With cellar music, I find something that I like and I wear it out. Right now I’m loving Poolside Pacific Standard Time. The whole album. I’ll play it as much as I can. Give it a listen, tell me I’m wrong.
We want your feedback on this one. Give us your favorite beat to push you through that paper, workout, or long drive and we will test it out in the cellar (use the comments section below). The music that is played in the cellar is just as part of our terroir as any other variable, help us make the 2017 vintage!