After a good night's sleep and a yummy Florentine cannoli for breakfast, we headed off towards the Cape to visit Frank and Diane Puzio and their new winery. Although there are several well-documented tales of Eleanor's slow driving, it must be reported that she has now become a brazen Northeast urban driver...almost. Although she still has a penchant for following slow trucks in the right lane, she once topped 65 mph with only moderately white knuckles on the steering wheel. :)
Arrived at First Crush Winery at noon to find the proprietor busy at work and his lovely wife, Diane, soon joined us. Not wanting to drink wine on an empty stomach, we drove over to the beautiful Wequassett Resort for lunch on the deck at the Outer Bar & Grill overlooking scenic Round Cove. We all agreed this would be a great place for a future PMA meeting.
After a great lunch, we returned to the winery for a tour of the facilities and a lesson on good winemaking practices. After many years of producing increasing quantities of wine in his garage, the wine-making operation was moved into a large space in an industrial park in Harwich. Frank is very well-versed in the meticulous details that will produce good wine and his attention to detail is evident in his product. His 2011 wine was the last crush done in his garage and the 2012 vintage was the first in his new facility.
Frank began his tour explaining the recent crush of 40,000 pounds of California grapes. First Crush sources their fruit from a grower in Suisun Country, which is just over the hill east of Napa, CA.
The Puzios have invested in a profusion of high quality Italian-made wine-making equipment. And Frank is still the only optometrist I know who has owned a full-size bulldozer, a commercial forklift and who uses a flamethrower for his weeding. Sometimes you can judge the unique character of an individual by his choice of toys! :)
After the requisite education, Frank broke out the first of his four wines, a lovely Sauvignon Blanc. As we continued the tour into the bottling area and the temperature-controlled cellar, stories of the triumphs and tribulations of wine-making continued. Diane, who has turned bottling wine into an aerobic workout, had one of the best stories. As she climbed a stepladder to fill a 3000 liter container with red wine, the power rheostat on the pump had been left on an improper setting. When it was switched on, Diane suddenly was holding a firehose gushing red wine. Putting her hand over the end of the hose only succeeded in spraying herself and the entire room in purple. Not every day happens according to plan...especially in wine-making!
In addition to the Sauvignon Blanc, First Crush produces an excellent Zinfandel, a complex Cabernet Sauvignon and a beautiful wine made from Cape Cod cranberries and California white raisins. By serendipity, Frank recently invented a fifth wine product when he was cleaning up after a wine tasting. He mixed the leftover Sav Blanc and the Three Sip Cran to create a wonderful blend of flavors which he now bottles as a summer picnic wine.
After a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon spent with wine and good friends, it was time to head back to Boston. Eleanor, Kenny and I wandered the streets of Brookline locating a bar with appetizers before settling on a Thai restaurant for dinner. We agreed that some days are better than others...and this was an excellent day!!!
Posted by TBW Travel Today!
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