THE RITE OF INTERNS

interns of kosta browne

Each year, people come here to make wine

Dana

Dana, Canada

Jack

Jack, New Jersey

cat

Cat, South Africa

kosta browne bottles in front of a barrel

it’s not glamorous at all

the floor of the winery
working through the rain and the cold

great winemaking demands preparation

prep work
boots on the ground
cleaning the vats
working in the winery black and white

and planning is vital

charts and stats
rolling barrels around
writing the date on the barrel
testing the batches

fourteen interns this year

the barrel room
pressurized lines of wine
reflections on the winery floor

seeking to learn how fine wine is made

checking the grapes for quality
tasting the first batch
making sure the wine is perfect

sweating the details of every vineyard and every pick

working in the vineyard
labeling bags
clipping grapes off the vine
harvesting the different varietals

one barrel at a time

one barrel at a time

working 14 hour days

long days at the winery
interns working the grapes
picking grapes off the vine
barrels on the rack
cleaning the winery floor

every day for manic weeks

sweeping water off the floor
crushing the grapes
helping the fermentation process
hosing out the stainless barrels

to put their mark on a vintage that happens only once

taking notes along the way
filling the barrels with wine
mixing just the right amount

and come through the other side of it

sampling the finished product
celebrating with a feast
enjoying the fruits of their labor
friendships built

on to further journeys to make wine again

walking into the barrel room

or coming back to stay

cleaning out glasses
a toast
the crushing of grapes

as was our rite too.

Nico

Nico, KB Assistant Winemaker

JT

JT, KB Assistant Winemaker

Julien

Julien, KB Cellar Master

Troyce Hoffman is a northern Californian based photographer specializing in documentary based work. He was embedded with us during much of harvest 2015. You can find Troyce and more of his work at troycehoffman.com.