Probably the Worst Tasmanian Vintage

Well, are you on the edge of your seats waiting for a blog update? This is Beckaroo and I am reporting live from beautiful Kayena, Tasmania. Today is April 7, 2009. This is probably the worst Tasmanian vintage in a long time. Why do you ask? The total crop is down at least 30% or more and the grapes are having one heck of a time ripening with all the rain and cool weather. Also botrytis cinerea, a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes threatening a majority of the crop. In viticulture, it is commonly known as botrytis bunch rot. The fungus gives rise to two different kinds of infections on grapes. The first, grey rot, is the result of consistently wet or humid conditions, and typically results in the loss of the affected bunches. So work is limited and the harvest is probably going to wrap up fairly soon.

I am taking it day-by-day. As you can see from the picture above the work here is hard. This is a picture of me sampling the juice. It is a tough job, but somebody has to do it! Just happy to work when I can and I am even picking grapes on my days off if there are any to pick. I need a bit of improvement in the vineyard since I have already sliced open two fingers with the shears.

The winery work is keeping me fit and I am running a lot here. I ran in a women's 5 km breast cancer fundraiser in Launceston a couple weeks ago and finished 26th out of 2000+ runners/walkers. Not bad although I would have liked to place in the top 25. My time was 22:08.

I am excited to come back to the states and see my little handsome nephew Jamison. I miss everyone and will see you soon!

Vintage House

Tasmania Take Two

What a crazy few weeks it has been. All I can say is life is unpredictable. My life seems to be the most unpredictable of anyone I know. At least I can provide entertainment for my friends and family. So after one day back in Chicago, I felt like I had made a huge mistake. I know. I know. What were you thinking?

So after speaking to the Cellar Manager and Winemaker, they are willing to let me come back and work vintage. Luckily the harvest has been delayed and I will make it back in time to start. I left because of him but I should have stayed for me. You see, life keeps throwing me curve balls and I keep striking out. Each time this happens, I always seem to make it through. I too will make it through this. I am going to make sure that I have the best time ever and keep a positive outlook on life. When this harvest commences, I will have learned more about winemaking, about myself and hopefully about life.

I love my family and my friends. Thank you for your support and open ears. To my family--I promise to try harder with you all and let's get R Little Winery up and running!

Tasmania

Do I Stay or Do I Go Now?

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
In the land down under, I am feeling a bit down under. After finding out my boyfriend who is also my bestfriend has been cheating on me since November, I have been on an emotional rollercoaster. Do I seriously have such bad luck? I am literally numb and in shock. Of all the things that could happen to me, this is the last one I thought possible. Especially since I have travelled around the world to live and work with the guy. I am not sure what I will do when he arrives this week.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
He arrived on Wednesday and I let him have it. I am so angry at him and sad. I don't know if I can make it through the harvest. Harvest is my favorite time of the year and I want to make sure that if I stay I will be able to do the job 100% and still have fun.

Saturday, February 28, 2009
Well, my emotional side got the best of me and I re-booked my ticket home for Sunday, March 1st. I hope I am making a good decision. I am sad to walk away from an opportunity like this. I have made friends with the most amazing people.

Sunday, March 1, 2009
Gabby, Lis and Andries drove me to the Launceston airport at 4:30 AM so I could catch my flight to Sydney. I did my best not to cry as I said goodbye to everyone and walked away. Now what?

Welcome to Australia and By the Way Un-Happy Valentine's Day

The wheels of the plane touched down in Sydney at 6:00 AM Valentine’s Day. Only one day later than planned. The original plan was for my boyfriend and me to meet in Sydney for a two-day vacation before flying together to Tasmania. Unfortunately his Visa hadn’t been approved yet, so I was alone in Sydney. This was the first Valentine’s Day I had been looking forward to in a long time. I had even bought a cute new dress outfit and a couple bottles of 2008 Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (a wine we made last vintage in New Zealand together and one he had not yet tasted.). I caught my shuttle to Urban St. Leonard’s Hotel ready for a hot shower and a long nap.

The hotel had internet so I logged on to see if there was any news from home or my boyfriend. Well, after a little investigation, I found some interesting stuff leading me to believe that I was not the only woman in his life. Un-Happy Valentine’s Day to me! Could this possibly be happening? Did I give up an opportunity to move back to Chicago where I could be working at a decent job and living in a place of my own instead of out of a suitcase? No. He would never do this to me I thought. Boy was I wrong...Un-Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Aloha?

“Attention passengers, due to a mechanical issue we will be landing in Honolulu. I never guessed I would be saying Aloha on this flight but welcome to Hawaii.” The flight attendant said. I guess you could say that I wasn’t the least bit surprised. During my travels, the one thing I have learned is to expect the unexpected. I had met a new friend, Melissa from Mexico, on the plane and her and I decided to make the best out of the situation. We would be shuttled to a hotel for the day where we would get our own room to shower and rest while they addressed the problem. It was 5:00 AM and our flight was rescheduled for 11:45 PM this evening. We also got a $15 food voucher. During our wait, we met another woman, Yvonne from Germany, and all three of us planned to check into our room, have a shower and a nap and meet in the lobby at 12:30 to go eat and explore the beaches.

One goal of mine is to visit all 50 United States. Hawaii was one I haven't been to yet and now I only have 10 to go: Alaska, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Vermont, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Let's just say having a layover in Hawaii was not all that bad. I got to explore Waikiki Beach, swing from a tree, check out the outdoor aquarium, get a little sun, put my feet in the water and meet some new friends.

All Set For Departure

February 11, 2009

After a very restless night of sleep (3 hours to be exact), my parents and I drove to Chicago so I could catch my flight. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Heaven knows that I need all the extra time I can get when it comes to airports and traveling. I checked in my luggage and crossed my fingers that it wasn't too heavy (50 pounds per bag). First bag 46 pounds. Check. Second bag 52.5 pounds. Dang it! I moved one steel-toe boot and a pair of shoes to the first bag and re-weighed both bags: 48.5 and 50 pounds. 98.5 pounds of stuff to live with for the next 5 months.

Hugs to the parents and off to security. I breezed right through and went to my gate. Too easy! My first flight was from Chicago to Los Angeles and was scheduled for departure at 4: 05 PM. Everything was going smoothly; the screen began flashing boarding in 5 minutes...then boarding in 1 minute. The next time I glanced up the screen flashed DELAYED due to plane maintenance malfunction. Really?

Luckily I had planned for this. I had booked my flight from Los Angeles to Sydney for 10:13 PM giving myself plenty of time in the case of a delay or bad weather. Our flight eventually departed at 5:45 PM and I landed in Los Angeles in plenty of time. My next flight boarded on time, but after we were seated they announced that there was a plane maintenance problem. Say what? Three hours later the problem was found and the part was replaced. Before we could leave the plane had to be refueled, but guess what? Someone messed up and put too much fuel in. Another delay. Now the plane was overweight and unbalanced. How was this problem rectified? Well, a few people were asked to get off the plane and the pilots burned the rest of the excess fuel by revving the engine for an hour. So four hours later, we were off to Sydney! I would like to say that the rest of my trip went smooth and I landed in Sydney as planned, but that would be too easy.

Here I Go Again...

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 the next adventure begins. I am off to Australia to work vintage in Tasmania for Tamar Ridge Winery. Here's the website: http://www.tamarridge.com.au/. I am overpacked and ready to go.

I have an Australia cell phone so if you would like to call me the number is 011 61 04 48699832. or you can email me at rochester_rebecca@yahoo.com. I will be there until the middle of June and then it is back to the West Coast.

There have been a few updates to my blog: If you enjoy my blog, then become a follower by clicking on the link on the right hand side and you will be emailed when I add new posts to my blog. I added world clocks for New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and USA Central time so it will easy to know what time it is wherever I am. I also added some links to some websites I mention in my blogs. Lastly, I have added banner ads to my blog. Each time you click on one, I get paid some money...so click away.

Stay tuned for adventures from Down Under.

Unemployed...When Does Happy Hour Start?

After working the vintage in California, Andries and I drove cross country back to Wisconsin. We made a few stops along the way in Oregon (winetasting at some magnificent wineries in Willamette Valley), Wyoming (Yellowstone Tour, dinner and a good night's sleep in Cody) and South Dakota (famous Wall Drug).

I have spent the past several months looking for a job in the wine industry. I have had a few interviews and a few offers, but none that I felt were right for me. I have been teeter tottering about moving back to Chicago or keep traveling around the world. This Friday I will make my final decision.

As of now, it appears that I will be flying to Tasmania at the beginning of February to work as a Vintage Cellar Hand for Tamar Ridge Winery. Three people who I worked with in New Zealand have also accepted a job there--Andries, Gabby and Jan. So that is definitely a bonus!

In December I went to visit Andries de Klerk in South Africa. It was a blast and we toured around the country. I will do a whole separate post on this trip very soon.

At the beginning of January, I spent three days at the Wisconsin Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Wisconsin Dells. It was the first conference hosted by the newly formed Wisconsin Grape Growers Association. http://www.wigrapes.org/ Check out their website for more information on growing grapes in Wisconsin. I met a lot of wonderful people in the industry and learned a few new things from the speakers.

I am back in Wisconsin and we are currently experiencing bitter cold temperatures of -25 to -35 degrees below zero. Hence another reason I am not sure that I want to permanently relocate back in the Midwest. I love sunshine...West Coast may be calling my name.

And lastly, just a few things I have pondered during unemployment:
1. When does happy hour start? Am I still eligible?
2. Do weekends still exist?
3. What else can I google?

California Harvest

Two Harvests in One Year!

Unemployed once again. Yep. Just the life of an international harvester. I just finished work as a Seasonal Viticulturist at Richard's Grove and Saralee's Vineyard in Windsor, California. It feels like just yesterday that I drove 35 hours straight cross country to start working the 2008 harvest in the Russian River (Sonoma area).

Not only did I work in the vineyard but I also took up a part-time night shift position at Martinelli Winery. I worked 3 nights a week there sometimes putting in 20+ hour days between both jobs. The winery was hard work!

This harvest I worked with the most inspirational woman I have ever met in my life. Her name is Saralee. She is dedicated to her family, friends and employees. She is hard working, compassionate and full of energy. I can only hope that someday I can be just as fantastic as a woman as she is. She has inspired me to work harder and not give up. I am even more excited now about being in the wine industry than I was before. This is where I belong.

So what's in store next? Good question. I have a few opportunities in the works. First, I have been offered a harvest position in Tasmania which starts in the middle of February. It's a great opportunity, I get to travel and work with some three people I worked with in New Zealand and of course I get paid to learn more about winemaking. On the other hand, a part of me is ready to get back to my city life in Chicago. I miss my friends and I sometimes I miss having a 9-5 job. I had a phone interview last week with a Chicago area wine company. It went really well and they have asked me to come in for a second interview.

Friday Andries and I head to Oregon to do a little wine research or as some most people refer to as winetasting. From there we head across Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota and should arrive in good ole' Wisconsin in the middle of the week. I am excited to catch up with family and friends. It's been a long, but fun 9 months living in New Zealand, Australia and California. Once I get home I will unpack my bags and hang up my gumboots until the next adventure comes my way.

Home Sweet Home...Well Kind Of

I am home! Well, let me reword that. I was home for a couple days and now I am in Santa Rosa, California. Yes. I said California. I know what you are thinking.
Didn't you just move back from California? Yep.
What are you doing back out there then? This is just a seasonal thing. Keep reading.

I arrived in San Francisco at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, August 6th. I collected my luggage and headed to check in for my Southwest flight to Chicago Midway. It wasn’t scheduled to leave until 6:30 PM that evening, but I thought I would see if I could catch an earlier flight. It was my lucky day! They changed my ticket, at no additional cost to me, to the 12:30 PM flight. I would land in Chicago at 8:30 PM instead of midnight.

Korinne picked me up at the airport and we were off to the city. I couldn’t stop smiling the moment I saw the dazzling Chicago city lights. This was the moment that I knew I was home. I spent the next couple of days in Chicago catching up with friends and on Saturday my mother and aunt Jen came and picked me up.

I interviewed for a couple seasonal harvest jobs in California and accepted a job as a Seasonal Viticulturist at Richard’s Grove and Saralee’s Vineyard in Windsor, California (Russian River AVA). At 5:30 AM on Thursday, August 14th, I started my Nissan Xterra and headed West to California. It had been awhile since I had driven on the right side of the road. I was pumped and spent the next 22 hours driving straight only stopping for gas, to grab a quick snack and go to the loo. Friday morning at 3:30 AM I pulled over for a quick 40 minute power nap and then I was off. I arrived in California Friday afternoon and met up with Andries, that’s my boyfriend who I met while doing harvest in New Zealand.

It has been hot as H- E- double hockey sticks here! The grapes are ripening in record time. My job as a Seasonal Viticulturist has been fantastic. I work with a great group of people, I get to be outside in the vineyard for a majority of the day and I get to drive a Gator around. I am learning a lot about how different varieties of grapes mature and the overall effect of terrior—especially location, soil and weather.

So here I am in Santa Rosa, California. I live in an apartment and have two plastic folding lawn chairs as furniture. I use my boogie board as a table and I love it! Yesterday I drove around to see if I could pick up some part time work in a tasting room. On my second stop at Harvest Moon Winery, I had landed myself a job in the tasting room. I started today and had a blast. I love mingling with people especially over great wines. I will be working Saturday, Sunday and Mondays in the tasting room and as needed.

Life is good.
Becky

The Final Days...Coming Home

Well, most of you probably don't know that I have decided to come back home. I left on February 18, 2008, and it is hard to believe that it has been almost 6 months since I have left home. Honestly, it has been a real eye opener, a wonderful opportunity to meet great people from all over the world and lastly, it has been a true journey for myself. I haven't achieved everything I had set out to do, but I have realized how good I have it in the USA. No matter where I have lived, there always is a strong force pulling me back home. I cannot wait to see my mother, father, brothers, grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends and give them a big hug. Because at the end of the day, no matter where I am or what I am doing, it all points back to my family and my home.

I love that I grew up in Wisconsin. That I was taught at a very young age how to take care of myself. I love that I am so independent. I know that everything that has happened in my life, good and bad, has happened for a reason. Although I don't want this trip to end, I know that it is time to go home. I hope that I am making the right choice. All I know is that my bags are packed and I am anxiously awaiting my 10:00 AM flight from Albury to Sydney, Sydney to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to San Francisco and San Francisco to Chicago. From there it is a mystery. But I know it is the next step in the adventures of Beckaroo.

CALL ME

For only $10 you can invest in a pre-paid calling card to call me in Australia. Here's the link:
http://www.mobilecaller.com/rates.asp?GUID=A192F5BBAAFF0D4C819F5B93AD868DFF .

My mobile number is +61 448 699 832. I look forward to speaking with some of you soon.

That's only 3 Starbuck's Cafe Lattes, 2 beers at the Chicago Cub's game or 3 gallons of gasoline.


love,
Beckaroo

Australia thus far...

The Adventure Continues Down Under

Ah. Australia…what more can I say. It’s a little slice of paradise. It is like I am walking around a really big zoo. There are exotic birds, wallabies and kangaroos just roaming around the countryside. Today while I was walking to work I spotted my first kangaroos! Three of them to be exact, and they just stood there watching me walk by. There are “heaps” of them here (“Heaps” is used a lot over here and replaces the American word “lots”.) So if you catch me saying “heaps” that is why. So I am having heaps of fun here so far. I am living in a tiny town, even smaller than Stoddard, Wisconsin, named Tawonga South. I share a house with Nathan, a guy I met during harvest in New Zealand at Oyster Bay, and his girlfriend, Leah. The house isn’t that big, but it is partly furnished and it is really close to work. The view is amazing. When you look out the front patio doors, you can see Mt. Bogong which is the highest mountain peak in Victoria.

A quick little geography lesson for anyone who doesn’t know much about Australia. There are 8 states in Australia: Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (I live here.). I am about an hour from the New South Wales border and biggest town around here, Albury.

I finally purchased a pay as you go cell phone. To reach me from the United States you would dial +61 448 699 832 or you can email me at rochester_rebecca@yahoo.com. I also hooked up the internet as well, so I will updating my Blog on a regular basis now.

Good news! I am flying home for a visit on September 24th. I will be in California from September 24-28 and then in Wisconsin and Chicago until October 13th. Then I am going to fly back to Australia and continue work at Annapurna Estate Restaurant and Cellar Door until the end of December. If I am not too homesick, then I will do a harvest at a winery here in Australia before hightailing it back to the states.

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful sunshine and warm summer weather. I have been following winter around the world. I am not complaining because the winter is pretty mild here…just lots of rain and snow in the mountains. You can check out the Annapurna Estate Restaurant and Cellar Door website at http://www.annapurnaestate.com.au/ .

Oh yeah…from here on out my new nickname is Beckaroo. Get it? Like a kangaroo.

Love always,
Beckaroo

Goodbye New Zealand, Hello Australia

On Saturday I said my goodbyes to my roommate and dear friend Gabrielle, boarded a bus and headed for the Auckland Airport. I arrived 3 hours early to make sure that I wouldn't miss my flight to Sydney. I have been known to have airport travel drama so I wanted to allow extra time.

With me was my backpack, big suitcase and little suitcase. I went to check into my flight and the woman informed me that my bags were overweight. The weight limit was 20 kilograms. I had 13.5 K in one bag and 34 K in another. So I went to the scale and proceeded to repack them to balance them better. I figured I would just throw a couple items away and repack the remaining items. The fee per extra kilogram is $18.60 and I was willing to pay a little extra. I went back to the woman and now my bags were 16.5 K and 24.5 K. I thought it would alright but was shocked when she informed me that I was only allowed one 20 K bag. That meant I would have to pay over $350 extra!!! I explained to her that I had travelled internationally from the USA and was allowed to bring 2 bags at 20 kilograms each. She asked if I had proof and luckily I had kept my ticket from my previous flight. I went to the customer service desk and talked to the manager there. After 10 minutes of using my Midwest charm and batting my eyes, he agreed to waive the fees for me.

After checking in my bags, I proceeded to pay my $25 NZ tax and then got into the security line. Let me point out that during my repacking of bags, I had layered as many clothes on as possible to cut down on weight in my suitcases. By this time I had added two sweatshirts, a hat and a belt (keep this in mind because the belt shows up later in my story). At security I put all of my bags on the conveyor belt, took my hat off and the guy asked for me to take off my belt. I tried to get it off but it was stuck. Then he asked for me to step aside and a woman security agent would need to take a look. Well, silly old me hadn't even considered that wearing a belt that has bullet shell cases and a gun on it probably isn't the smartest idea at an international airport. The woman just took a look and nicely asked me not to wear the belt during my trip. I took the belt off and put it in my bag. I will post a picture once I have access to my computer. Duh!

I arrived at my gate with 25 minutes left to board. The flight was quick and at 5:50 PM I arrived in Sydney. I took a taxi to the Holiday Inn Potts Point and enjoyed a nice evening walking around and relaxing.

Today I went down to see the famous Sydney Opera House and Sydney Cove. The city is clean and there is great shopping and food. Unfortunately I am at capacity on my luggage so I will have to make a trip back just for shopping. Tuesday I fly to Albury and my friend, Nathan, who also worked for Oyster Bay is picking me up. Wednesday we move into our new house in Mount Beauty. I begin work for Annapurna Estate sometime next week or weekend.

As they say in Australia, no worries.

Last Day at Oyster Bay

Christchurch SBS Marathon, Half Marathon and 10k Run

Today was my final day of work at Oyster Bay. Just like running a race, it feels great to finish. Now it is time to begin the Holiday part of my Working Holiday Visa. I have the next two days to pack, sell my bicycle and arrange the rest of my travel plans.

Saturday morning Andries, Gabby, Christian and I begin our 9 day roadtrip. It is going to be a fast and furious roadtrip of the South Island. Highlights include a quick stop in Dunedin for a brewery tour of Speight's, a visit to Central Otaga for some winetasting, skiing or some other adrenaline activity in Queenstown, hiking in Milford Sounds, and a tour of Fox Glaciers.

Last weekend I had a three day weekend thanks to the Queen's birthday. Saturday morning Andries, Chris, Matthew and I headed to Christchurch for the weekend. Along the way we stopped at a couple wineries and did some winetasting. Saturday night Andries, Chris and I attended the Rugby final--Crusaders vs. Wartahs. It was fun to see, but I am still a hockey fan! Check out the video clips I posted.

On Sunday Andries and I ran in the SBS Race (pictures above). I ran a half marathon and he ran a 10k. Overall, I did pretty good considering I haven't been able to train with my crazy work schedule. Now I am back on track and have officially started my training for this year's Chicago Marathon.

I drove for the first time in over 3 months! Not to mention on the other side of the road. It was awesome!!! I have received two thumbs up from Andries and am allowed to be the relief driver for our roadtrip. Stay tuned for more pictures...

Sunday Winetasting