It's getting ruff

I previously wrote about how awesome I thought punch down's were which is unfortunate because I think I found a new thing to hate at work. They start off nice. You're using heavy machinery to punch down fermenting grapes so the juice comes out and the yeast can throw a party on their tab. But then you realize you've got 2 more hours to go and it's only been 5 minutes. Roughly 30 minutes into it your hands start to ache. But you just have to keep going. There's no other option. And these have to be done 4 times a day for as much as 30 minutes a day, and there's 9 of these tanks. Rubbish. Here's a pic so you don't have to read for a second:

On the upside to today, I learned that the plastic gas death trap below is called an S type something. I forgot what Dennis told me. But to go along with the whole fermentation "theme" I've got going in this post, I figured I'd show you these buggers. The funny thing is, like most things where I work, I have no idea what they do. But the winemakers love 'em and I just can't take away what immense joy they get from using them. So, fermenting grapes create CO2 from the burping yeast who eat everything insight and then these things bubble. And winemakers, I am led to believe, absolutely love bubbles. Must be a childhood thing. I don't know. It's going to be a busy weekend though. I think the Char-done-a is coming in. I'm giddy like a school girl.