Zen Breath 3-2-1

Note: You are receiving this email because you subscribed to my weekly 3-2-1 newsletter or you subscribed to the Koi Zen Cellars newsletter. Every Friday, I share 3 wine terms, 2 quotes from me, and 1 question for you to ponder. Occasionally, I also send out long-form articles on habits and self-improvement.

"During the fall, the winery attracts two things,

fruit flies and donation requests"
~ The Zen Winemaker ~



3 terms, 2 quotes, 1 question

September 10, 2021


Happy Friday! Time to wrap up this week and get ready for the next! Take a deep breath and kick off the weekend on a positive note. Let's consider where we have been, improve it, and move forward next week. Packing the most content into the least words and trying to change the world, one glass at a time.

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3 - Wine Terms - Vineyard Math

Harvest is upon us and fruit is starting to ripen in the vineyards and will soon be picked. We just lost a Merlot contract due to a light yield. This sometimes happens because it is difficult to estimate crop yields. So lets talk a little about vineyard math.
  1. One Ton - one ton of grape clusters yields about 63 cases of finished wine. Each acre of vineyard produces between 2-10 tons of fruit. Fruit prices can range from $100 per ton all the way up to $25,000 per ton.

    Depending upon the varietal, some vines produce better fruit when some of the fruit has been thinned to reduce yield. Growers will also drop fruit if the vines are not ripening fast enough.

    All of these factors contribute towards the final vineyard yield.
  2. Out of One Ton of grape clusters there is about 200 pounds of rachis (stems).  A ton will also produce about 150 gallons of wine and about 550 pounds of pomace. Pomace is the leftover solid material after pressing which includes stems, skins, seed and dead yeast cells.

    Throughout time, people would take the pomace (the waste) add sugar and water and ferment a second time to produce "second wine" which was given to the workers and to the poor.  If you distill the second wine you end up with Grappa.
  3. Most vineyards are picked using large machines which often turn the fruit into mush destroying some of the quality. These monster machines can pick over 10 tons per hour. However at Koi Zen Cellars we pay a premium for hand picked and hand sorted fruit and bring it to the winery in sound condition. A skilled picker can pick 2000 pounds of fruit in an 8 hour shift.

    Most of the fruit we buy is harvested in the middle of the night, often starting at 1:00 am. We also pay for this level of quality because we want to start with cold fruit. If you start with warm or hot fruit fermentation can be overly aggressive degrading the quality of the finished wine.

    This year we will be picking some of the fruit ourselves and are looking for people to help. This is typically on a weekend and starts at dawn. Please shoot me an email if you are interested in helping us pick fruit and I will get you on a distro list.

2 - Quotes from Me:


1. "All actions start as thoughts - watch what you think" ~ The Zen Winemaker

2. "If you believe it, it is true - at least to you." ~ The Zen Winemaker

1 - Question to ponder:

Voices in my Head


Last week we talked about how the self image you create will become real. If you think you are fat, you probably will be because of a "self fulfilling prophecy".
Every action starts as a thought

You will also become what you think and how you talk to yourself. We all talk to ourselves. Those little voices, the dialog and the thought process that float around inside of that very complex machine we call a brain. If you tell yourself you will be shy - guess what - you will be.

If you tell yourself that you are slow, inexperienced, incompetent, shy, scared, whatever - you will be. So if you want to change, you need to change the internal dialog you have with yourself.

For the most part, I am very upbeat and positive. The voices in my head are happy and cheerful. But the last two weeks have been a series of frustrations and setbacks that have tried to take me down that dark rabbit hole. However, when you begin to observe your thoughts as they occur, you can quickly identify these bad thought and put a positive spin on them.

This is not wishful thinking but a constructive way of accomplishing a purpose. If you tell yourself you will succeed - the chances of success skyrocket. If you tell yourself I will get better, it will. If you tell yourself that you can do something - you probably will.

And when in doubt, always stay supportive of others and yourself.

Question for You -


Are the voices in your head supportive and positive or disruptive and negative?

And if you don't know, then now is a great time to start monitoring (not judging) your thoughts.

~~ Notice ~~

Every invention that has ever existed started with a thought.

~~~


Cheers,

Darius Miller - The Zen Winemaker

P.S. Let me know what you think of the 3-2-1 newsletter - or better yet, share with your friends - it would be much appreciated.

Author of a #1 best seller:
'The Zen Winemaker - Follow Your Dreams & Overcome Your Fears'

Creator of:
'The Zen Wine Tasting Journal - Life is too short to drink bad wine, or to wear ugly underwear.'

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ZenWinemaker.com

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