My sense of sight and smell accurately informs me of the world surrounding Mountain Spirit Winery. I see a smoky haze that partially obscures the nearby forested hills and grassy valley. And, an unavoidable smell, that of a distant pinewood campfire, lingers in the smoky air. Both haze and smell tell me of forest fires in distant California and smaller ones in Colorado. It is this miraculous olfactory sense about which I write in this reflection. My sense of smell is inherently useful, pleasing, and quite unavoidable with my work at the winery. It certainly has been in other jobs I've had.
During thirty-five years of teaching I have occupied a classroom with multitudes of students who brought with them dfistinct body odors. I remember those odors as a most noticeable and memorable student identity. Some students were so strongly scented with perfumes or colognes that my entire classroom was, for a school day, pleasantly permeated with the lingering flowery smell of lilacs, roses, sandalwood, jasmine or appetizing spices. Some simply smelled refreshing and soapy clean. I could close my eyes and breath deeply those smells hoping to drown out other unavoidable odors including the overpowing, pungent aroma of sweat or the nauseating, sour odor of unlceanliness. Obviously, my sense of smell, told me a great deal about my various students.
These classroom smells were unavoidable odor experiences, somewhat like rewards and hazards of teaching. Some odor hazards (if you will) are unfortunately as memorable to me as are odor rewards. I cannot forget that unpleasant stench of a student's poor hygiene. Moreover, the mining industry, where I worked before teaching, also had unforgettable very unpleasant odors. I shall never forget the mirgraine causing acrid smell of nitro glycerin and dynamite I handled when working underground at Climax mines, here in Colorado. Nor, in the coal mines of Wyoming, where I also worked, the clammy, musty smell of dampened underground air, heavily laden with coal dust. Nor, shall I forget the caustic smell of diesel fuel and exhaust common to the mining industry. These were definitely unforgettable job odor hazards.
By contrast, my work at Mountain Spirit Winery provides most pleasant and memorable odor rewards. These are what first greet me when I go to work there. Especially at the time of crush, the winery itself is filled with wholesome, fruity smells of fermenting chardonnay, merlot, apples, blackberries, and raspberries juices. The winery also has a musty, robust smell of yeast and nutrients added to these juices to manipulate them into our fine wines. This appetizing smell could give one the notion that we are baking bread at the winery as well as making wines. Also noticeable are the subtle smells of iodine, cleansers, and 'sun fresh' scented Spic and Span, used in keeping the winery meticulously clean. But, of course, most noticeable and pleasing are the aromas of the individual wines created ar MSW.
I swirl a glass of one of my personal favorite MSW wines and raise it to my nose. Its aroma is somewhat a mix of raspberries and strawberries, but, as well, distinctly that of blackberries. I cannot clearly separate the blackberry scent from that of the cabernet franc, However, a sweet bouquet with a slightly sharp edge to it wafts to my nostrils. The blended result of these two aromas is inviting and pleasantly agreeable to me. Before I taste it, I enjoy a feast for my nostrils, the odor reward of a sublime MSW wine, Blackberry Cabernet Franc.
Ed Lambert
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