Annual Bottling in the time of Corona
If you have read Caro Feely’s memoir series you know that preparing for bottling and actual bottling are one of the most stressful moments of our year. In 2020 we had the complexities of Corona virus lockdown to contend with; offering the potential for a storm of stress. Everything started off calm and smooth.
The bottles arrived.
Caro sang hallelujah. The front labels arrived.
The back label printing we do ourselves went smoother than ever.
Caro felt like Jamel Debbouze in Asterix and Cleopatra – c’est un peu trop calme – je prefere quand c’est un peu plus moins trop calme. ‘Its a little too calm, I prefer when its a little more ‘less too calm’.’ 🙂
Then the supplier said the corks had been lost in transit because a depot was closed due to Corona – and we might not have them in time. Bang went the calm.
White knuckles, many emails and calls and a couple of sleepless nights later…. The corks arrived with 5 business hours to spare ….
The crew and the bottling machine arrived early. Setting up was slow and steady, bottling got underway. Because of Sean’s back injury in 2018 we had decided to book a full service team this year. It is also a new machine with ability to inject nitrogen into the bottles so better for conditioning natural wine.
Given the COVID-19 situation we were fortunate we had made that decision as this team are used to working together and to working the bottling line within corona restrictions. Not easy.
Halfway through Feely Generosite a part broke on the machine. The maintenance van arrived in less than half an hour and soon bottling was back underway.
It was strange for us to be in the background making sure they had everything they needed when they needed it, rather than on the frontline packing the boxes and stacking pallets. But we think we can get used to it. 🙂
The new wines are beautiful. Here’s a photo of the two whites and the new Liberté rose- read about the range here.
We still got to move a lot of boxes to repack all the pre-ordered direct orders which inspired Caro to do a ‘Rosie Riveter’ WW2 poster photo lookalike.
Thank you infinitely to all our loyal clients for your orders. We appreciate your support particularly at this critical time.
We have launched a new set of exciting virtual experiences – wine tastings, celebrations and courses that you can enjoy at home and an indepth Virtual Discovery Wine Course.
Order your Feely organic biodynamic wine online at our mixed case with eu shipping page or at the Feely wines online boutique where you can order by bottle then add shipping at the end.
See our post about bottling in 2018 for more on this important moment in our year. This year’s corona- related delays meant Caro needed the yoga stress relieving breathing techniques more than ever.
Come and learn more about wine with a visit to Chateau Feely in South West France ; stay or do a multi day course or multi day tour. You can read about the story of this organic vineyard, wine school and farm – the series includes three books by Caro Feely (order online with amazon via these links or from your local bookstore)
Grape Expectations: A Family’s Vineyard Adventure in France (Caro Feely Book 1)
Saving Our Skins: Building a Vineyard Dream in France ( Caro Feely book 2 )
Glass Half Full: The Ups and Downs of Vineyard Life in France (Caro Feely Book 3)
Summersdale publishers have also made the 3 book series available as a kindle bundleCaro Feely (3 Book Series)
You can also order a case of organic wine including shipping in the EU. Join the mailing list to receive a seasonal newsletter, events, wine pairing, recipes and more info on this topic.
