I still remember how scared I was flying into Monterrey, Mexico. At the time (2012) , the drug war was in full swing. 49 people had just been decapitated and mutilated by the los zetas drug cartel, journalists were being hung from bridges and I had decided to do a vintage at Casa Madero in Parras, Northern Mexico. I was assured it was safe , yet I was the only white guy on my flight into the city. When I asked my Mexican winemaker buddy Oscar how to get to the winery. He said ‘Arrive at midday and we will travel by convoy.’
The winery complex itself was old and beautiful, it had a church, large kitchen , pool, airstrip and was the hub of the community. It still actually lays claim to being the oldest winery in the Americas. Grapevines would hang above us as we worked and all the tanks were cooled by water trickling down the sides. It made the whole winery a beautiful cool temperature. The downside of this was water would go into the electricity sockets and the entire place was ‘live’. Anything you touched, whether it be a pump, a tank or metal staircase would give you a jolting shock. Which kept you alert and attentive to say the least.
There were fiestas all through vintage. A bareback horse racing festival where locals would arrive on their horse, place bets against each other and race. A festival of the vine where young girls would throw the new seasons grapes to the crowds. The town was called ‘Parras’ which literally translated to ’vine’ in Spanish. The town only existed because the winery existed . Locals set their clocks to the bells at the church in the winery.
They had 60 staff, many who had spent a lifetime working for the winery. The older guys often didn’t do much, but they knew how to fix a particular old pump or conveyer, and never shared the knowledge, so they were kept on the books just in case it broke. The winery had been in existence since 1597, in addition to the church and restaurant there was a museum which housed the old equipment. One day the main pump in the winery blew, two of the older men went into the museum and retrieved something dating from the 1930s-50s and actually got it working which saved the days haul of grapes.
There were large tanks of brandy spirit distilled on site and during night shift the younger lads would help themselves to the tanks. Turning the sample tap and putting their mouth underneath. During world war 2 with Europe's supply knocked out, the winery became one of the largest distilleries in the world, supplying brandy and spirit for the war. Given this no one really noticed when the younger guys took few shots from a 100,000 litre tank . Depite, being drenched in red wine most days, these same employees would come to work with spotless white shirts, I never knew how they got them so clean, and I still don't. A cellar hand had died the year prior in one of the tanks (carbon dioxide and enclosed spaces ), there were small shrines to him around the winery and also in the church. Which I guess is an easy way to remind staff during vintage to be mindful of safety.
The accordion would play throughout the night on the small AM radio in the fermentation room with ads for local tire shops and taco stalls announced after every second song. It got the guys through the long nights monitoring ferments and doing additions. One evening, I decided to call it a night around 1am. I walked to the front door of the complex and it was locked. Because of the violence in the surrounding area, the complex had 3 meter walls and 4-6 security patrolling at all times. This particular night, banditos had come into the vineyard to steal grapes, which in the context of dismembered bodies hanging from bridges seems pretty tame. But it gave the often idol security something to do. They locked the winery, along with all staff inside, for our safety. No bandito'were caught and we were released from the winery at 5am.
These are the vintages that define you as a young winemaker. It’s definitely not for the money, it’s for the experience , for the adventure, for the stories, the memories and for the friends you make along the way. Its these memories that help make your future wines. The name and idea for L.A.S. Vino came from that vintage. Over a few wines Oscar and I discussed how Australian wine had become industrial and needed a bit more art applied. I made note that Mexican wines could apply a little more science. It started to rain and we had fruit on the vine. You always need luck I thought. Luck Art & Science. L.A.S Vino.
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