Ben Smith, Cadence

As fate would have it, Ben Smith, owner and winemaker of Cadence winery in Seattle, got hurt on the very first day of harvest.

“I was just lifting an empty fermenter to turn it over and rinse it out, which I’ve done a million times, and I heard and felt the lower bicep tendon, the one next to the elbow, tear,” Smith says.

Undeterred, Smith spent the rest of the day at the winery, trying to work with one-arm. That day, Cadence processed five tons of Merlot. The next day, imaging confirmed the tendon tear. It meant Smith would be restricted as to what he could do for the rest of harvest.

The good news is that Cadence has its fruit delivered rather than picking it up. Additionally, Smith could still drive a forklift. “That helps,” he said.

The bad news is that punchdowns – the breaking up of the cap of grape skins and fermenting juice – would be impossible. An essential part of the winery’s process, Smith typically does three punchdowns per day, all by hand. This goes on for two weeks for each fermenter. It is a very physical process.

Smith’s wife, co-owner and co-winemaker Gaye McNutt, did the first punchdowns. “Fortunately, I’m in good health and somewhat strong,” McNutt says. However, this was not a long-term solution.

“After Ben got his X-ray and it was clear there was something really wrong, we had to think fast,” McNutt says.

That Friday, they called McNutt’s brother in Texas, who is between jobs. He was at the winery on Monday. The help was urgently needed, as Cadence picked all of the fruit off its estate vineyard on Red Mountain between September 4th and 12th. It is the most compressed harvest that the winery has had since its founding in 1998.

The day after he got hurt, Smith also posted to Facebook. “Yeah, a torn tendon is NOT the way you want to start harvest,” he wrote. Other local winemakers, who are in the middle of their own harvests, offered to assist. They included Morgan Lee (Two Vintners, Covington) and Jason Gorski (DeLille).

“It was really sweet of them,” Smith says. “I’ve known those guys for a long time, and they just said, ‘We’ll come down and help. Just tell us what to do.’”

Others offered to assist as well. “Our graphic designer even said, ‘I can help!’” McNutt says.

Typical of the life of a small winery, in the middle of it all, McNutt had to fly to the east coast for a sales trip. When she returned, she went straight to the winery to do another punchdown.

Smith has since had surgery. His recovery process will take three to six months. Cadence will soon press off the last of its fruit for this year’s harvest. Despite the curveball, the vintage looks promising.

“We’re super happy with the flavor,” McNutt says. “Concentration was fabulous. The acid level stayed up.”

Image courtesy of Cadence Winery

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