Page 69 of A New Year In The Presidential Suite

After everyone had been served breakfast and were seated at the table, Sarita said, “I thought it would be nice to give Cristina a healthy send-off to her meeting downtown.”

“Good luck,” said Lori. “I’m sure you’ll be successful.” There was something stylish and appealing about Cristina. This morning, she was wearing a pair of white slacks with a raspberry-colored sweater and beautiful turquoise and silver jewelry. Lori loved all of it.

“I can drive you into town,” Pete said to Cristina.

“Thanks, but Sam has given me the use of his car while I’m here,” said Cristina sweetly.

“Okay,” said Pete, looking a little glum. “Maybe later, the four of us can get together in town.”

“That’s a good plan,” said Sarita. “I want Cristina to see how Napa has changed. The four of you should go out together and enjoy the evening.”

“Oh, okay,” said Cristina.

“That will be nice,” Lori added, seeing the look of concern on Sarita’s face.

Sarita smiled at her. “You should see for yourself how much fun it can be.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll see that she has a pleasant time,” said Griff, giving Lori a wink that made her toes curl with anticipation.

Griff stood as the last of them finished their meal. “Lori, I’ll walk you over to the barrel building, where you can spend some time with Kayla.”

“There’s more to the property?” Lori said.

“Oh, yes. The barrel cellar is the most important building of all,” said Griff.

He waited for her to grab her purse, and then they headed out of the house.

“Where are we going?” Lori asked as Griff started walking toward the barn.

“Our barrels of wine are kept in a racked warehouse, also known as a rickhouse. Barrels are stored off the ground in a cool, well-ventilated cellar away from direct sunlight to prevent mold growth and excessive temperature swings.”

“I don’t remember seeing a warehouse,” Lori said.

“It’s a one-story building covering a cellar,” Griff explained. “We use both levels for our barrels. Barrels need to be stored away in a place with 65-75% humidity. The barrels used for longer-term storage are in the basement. Wines that don’t need to be stored as long use the upper, windowless level, which is carefully controlled for temperature and humidity.”

When they came to the road leading to the barn, Griff turned right and followed a road to a squat concrete block building painted brown that made it seem part of the landscape.

He indicated the building with a wave of his hand. “This is where the magic happens. Kayla is a skilled winemaker. We’re lucky to have her. She’ll show you how she does her job.”

They walked past a large overhead door that Lori guessed was opened for transferring equipment and supplies, to a smaller door at the end.

Griff opened it, and they walked into an office where Kayla sat behind a desk.

“ ’Morning,” said Kayla. “I’m glad to see you here, Lori. I understand you want to see what a vintner does. I’m happy to show you.”

“I’ve already told her we’re lucky to have you,” teased Griff.

Kayla laughed. “I love it here, and you know it.”

“I’ll leave you two and check in with you later,” said Griff, giving them a salute before leaving.

“I was unaware of this building,” said Lori. You can’t see it from the barn area.”

“For a reason,” Kayla said. “Some vineyards have their barrel cellars available to the public, but here at Adeline Hills, they prefer to keep the winemaking a separate, private operation. It’s larger than you think. Let me show you around. This, obviously, is where we keep a lot of records and information, along with daily postings.”

They left the office and went into what looked like a high school science lab. Glass beakers, test tubes, and other scientific-looking equipment sat on a long wooden table, and a laptop computer rested at the end of it.

“Winemakers perform chemical tests on the initial juice, which can include measuring fermentable sugars, yeast assimilable nitrogen concentration, and spoilage indicators,” said Kayla.