Hello! My name is Camille Captain, and I am currently 10 years old. I am the granddaughter of Sal Captain, the enologist at the vineyard, and Susan Captain, the viticulturist. I'm writing to you today to tell you a little bit about my amazing visit to Captain Vineyards. My stay this year was 2 and a half weeks. During my visit, I helped my grandpa with the sanitization of the tubes that the wine will later flow through. I lifted up the tube on one side so that the sanitation liquid would flow towards the other side, sanitizing the tube.
I love visiting California every year because of the vineyard, but most importantly, I love seeing my family and having so much fun with them. I see my California cousins very rarely, so it's always a special thing to get to visit them. I saw a lot of my family members at our annual family reunion at the vineyard. During the party, we also celebrated Lily, my older sister, turning 13. It was really fun, but by the end, I was ready for bed.
This year, the grapes are developing very slowly due to a colder spring than usual. Our harvest will probably be about a month late this year. We always harvest the grapes when they are from 22- 24 brix. Brix are a measurement of the sugar level within the grapes. We are currently at around 15 brix for the green grapes (the less ripe ones) and around 18 for the purple ones (the more ripe ones.) To measure the amount of brix, you use a device called a refractometer. You drip a little bit of juice from the grape onto the device, and then you look inside of a little hole on the machine that tells you the amount of brix.
While visiting the vineyard, I also helped out with the vineyard tours. I told people about our location on the map and a little about the vineyard. I also mentioned that we are dry farmed, green, and sustainable.
Thank you so much for reading this blog today. If you visit the vineyard, I can guarantee you will have a just as wonderful time as I have had.
Insider tip: Try the Camille blend!!!!!!!!!!