That Was The Week That Was!

(Pictures later. I have some video footage too, but need to link to it off-site to preserve space here)
So anyway, barely 11 days ago the beginning of the end, or the quiet hour before the dawn, commenced. We didn't realise it at the time but the arrival of Eric, the Division of Liquor Control's Field Compliance Officer, heralded a very rapid ascent to the heights of achieving our dream, to have an approved and legal winery.

The Story of the Beginning of the Beginning.

Tuesday.
It was just typical. The only time I continued to ignore the calls on my cell phone from Cynthia in favour of putting my job first, and she did call three times, was the time when Eric turns up to inspect our winery premises. Had I answered, I would have raced home, as it was, I phoned her back after it was over. This is what happened.
Eric turns up and the first words out of his mouth are, "We don't encourage wineries in basements." He was negative, but Cynthia asks him to come look in the basement anyway. She shows him around and he says that he couldn't approve the winery as there isn't any access to it directly from the outside and that access cannot be via the main, and separate, residence. But she tells him that we can put in a basement access and shows him some possible walls to bust through to achieve this. He thinks about it - we learned later that he thought she was just humouring him and had no intention of putting in such access - and asks to see how the access would look from the outside.
On ground level again and outside, she's showing where the access can go and he "sees" it and starts to get enthusiastic. Before long he's envisioning a gravel drive, parking lot and a gazeebo for wine tasting, but only after he realises that we lie on 5 acres. Then he carries on about how Powell is a great place for it, and so on and so forth. By the time he leaves, he's shaking her hand, handing over the business card and saying that if we put in the basement access then it's possible. But he wants us to withdraw the license application.
That evening we dig out the brochure about the basement access system from Carey Precast Concrete. I go outside and measure up the potential access sites, and reconcile those with internal measurements. We're going to call them and go from there.

Wednesday.
I call Carey Precast and find out that the basement access system is reasonably priced, but they don't dig the hole, cut the basement wall nor install the basement door. Time for some par-lay.
Well, Anton's Dad has the crew and the equipment to dig the hole. Marty can do the hole cutting and install a door in the basement wall. Perfect. We spend a hour or so at Hooter's looking at the spec sheet for the basement access system and convince ourselves we can do it so Carey can come by and drop the access in. But only after we convince ourselves that a group effort and a few beers will enable us to dig the hole (7ft x 9ft square and 7 feet deep I'll have you know) on Saturday. And this is how Wednesday ended, with us geared up to dig on Saturday, put in the door Sunday and have the access dropped in during the following week.

Thursday.
I confirm the size of the basement access and say I'll order next week after we dig the hole. They have them in stock and can be here within a couple of days. I call Eric about our progress and I guess it registers with him that we're serious as I tell him it will be in next week. He again takes the opportunity to tell me that he sees potential and has plans for tastings etc. I give him a potted history of here we've been and let him know our direction etc. I'm trying to play down the Public in all this as at this stage I'm not convinced that we'll still come up with another barrier centered around taking the Public into consideration.
He ends by telling me not to withdraw the A-2 application and we'll meet next week.

Friday.
Anton's Dad has got hold of this installation project now. Anton passed the specs to him and apparently there's quite the team pouring over it. There's all types of advice filtering back from them - from the size of system we'll need to basement wall composition and whether the joists run parrallel to the intended wall or not.
The question of digging the hole out ourselves come up. We end the day with me promising Anton I'll tell him later that day whether we're mad or whether we'll use his Dad for the work. I helped MArty and Mike move a fridge and took the opportunity to convince folks we'll have it dug by machine on Monday instead. Michael was secretly peeing himself over the challenge and had bought a long handled shovel specially. This shows great loyalty- rather than break rank and declare us all mad, he goes and gets a shovel instead. Needless to say he was relieved.

Saturday.
Marty and I go get an exterior door, locks, some wood and bits and pieces for installing the door on Monday after the hole's dug out.

Sunday.
Nothing happened apart from Gerry cam round, so did Marty and Sue and we hung around the pool.

Monday.
Anton's Dad and Crew turn up, Kevin and Dan. They have a great short bodied, double-axle dump truck, towing a trailered back-hoe. In just over 1.5 hours the hole's dug out. And just like my Dad, Anton's is cut from the same stuff, and they don't make 'em like that anymore. We were in the hole digging and cutting pipe etc, and he was just taking it in his stride.
Mike turned up late and Dad goes, "Nice Timing," or something similar.
I offered to pay the diesel for the machinery but he wouldn't accept, so we got it free! It was Anton's contribution to the cause, so maybe his Dad will get paid by Anton in other ways.
After the dig I checked the level of the ground grade and ordered the correct basement system.
Then Erci calls and says he can come by. And he does. He is impressed that we put in the hole so quick. It's here he admits he didn't believe Cynthia when she said we'd do it.
Mike and I spend about an hour with him and again he repeats his vision of bigger things for us and how we had to think bigger. He sees no objection to giving us the license provided 1) system is in 2) we get our Federal Permit Number and 3) a letter from the Delaware County Dept. of Health saying we do not need a food operator's license (see earlier post for That saga).
He left happy as were we Anton was not happy about the letter from the Dept. of Health and claimed Eric was wrong, but actually, turns out Eric's right. eric is, after all, God at this stage.
That night at 6pm Marty and Mike arrive and it's time to cut a doorway in the basement wall. We finished at 12.30 am Tuesday. What we had in was a framed external and insulated door with two security locks, and a concrete lintel. It was quite the job and we've somenoce photos and video of it.

Tuesday.
Day of Rest? No. I order the gravel to fill in around the system when it goes in. It will arrive Wednesday. Michael arrives this afternoon with Remington (son) and between them they clear the hole of all the debris created the day before. We pull out the large section of walls with chain and the tractor, then we all go in the pool. I tell Carey to deliver Friday as I need an extra day to do a few ore jobs around the hole.

Wednesday.
Gravel turns up and Michael's there to supervise and pay. However he turns his back and Slick, the Western Elvis lookalike, dumps the gravel off the end of the drive. We wanted him to keep it on the drive to make it easier to pick up with the tractor. Never mind.
On my way home from work I uy drainage. I need to route the two drainage pipes around the base of the system and around its top. I put in the lower piping. I also mix some concrete and fill in some holes below the bottom of the door and basement footer.

Thursday.
Some fine tuning. I shave down the tarring and clean up the footer and my concrete work, to ensure a better fit between thr system and the basement. Oh and that letter from Delaware Health Dept has arrived!

Friday.
It's 6.30am and Carey's here with the system. He says it's a clean job. I hope our measurements are OK and is why I'm here and prepared to grab that grinder. By 9am he's finished. It looks great. I'm going to work.
I call Anton and I'm excited about the basement and the letter. Anton's delaying as he's listening to some crap town hall call so I tell him I'll wait by the coffee place. He's not turning up.Damn. Oh well, then he calls and there he is. He asks me to go outside as he has something to show me. What? He hands me a fax that says "Basic Permit" and my mind is struggling, Anton's not saying anything. I am so used to requests for further info, more barriers and hoops to jump through that I'm looking at this thinking, "waht now?" I'm scanning it like crazy, not wanting to focus on the bad news that may be on the form: the checked box that says, "Denied". And I'm getting no clues from Anton's silence and body language.
Then hesitantly I decide it's OK and thisis the permit. And it is. It doesn't sink in at all. But today we got our Federal Approval to proceed as a Winery.
So we call Eric and leave a messge telling him the Quest is Over. By the end of the day he has the letter and Federal permit faxed and posted to him. Over the weekend he will have a picture of the basement access sitting in his email too.
'Nuff said.


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