Bottling Day, Paused

Bottling the 2024 Marp Reserve in Thimphu

It’s been nearly a month since we returned to Thimphu after the pruning trip. While Matt and Dorji continued cutting, clearing, and tying down vines at our central vineyards in Pinsa and Baja, and out west in Paro and Ser Bhum, my work shifted indoors.

While they pruned, I wrote. I recalled and documented. I worked on communications and on my own wellness. Solo work at cafes, restaurants, and new dwellings. Necessary work, but quiet.

Today, I return to the winery. Not for something new, but for something familiar: bottling.

We’re bottling the 2024 Marp Reserve — marp (དམརཔོ།་), meaning “red” in Dzongkha — our Bordeaux-style blend. The winemaker has been waiting for the tannins to soften and smooth. They’re ready now.

The blend is anchored by 60% Pinsa Merlot, with smaller portions of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec, primarily from Bajo and Paro.

After a scenic walk past Tashichho Dzong, I arrive just before eleven. Hobo and Oscar, old neighborhood dogs and friends, greet me first. I give them as much love as I can muster after weeks away, then step inside.

The winery feels different. Less open. Boxes of bottles stacked high, waiting to be stored or filled.

The temperature inside is cool after my walk in the sun. Ideal for the physical labor about to begin. The lights are bright, as always. Clean. Intentional. Functional.

I spot Dorji and say good morning. He tells me he missed me. I tell him I missed him too.

The pump hums as it fills the bottle filler. The hydraulics on the corker are tested and reset. Before long, I grab my Bose speaker and start the no-repeat bottling playlist. Beats to carry a full run.

I take my place at the old corker. It’s my third time bottling, but the rhythm takes a moment to return.

Grab cork. Blow both ends. Place in corker.

Carefully grab bottle from Dorji.

Push down base and set the bottle.

Slam lever.

Remove bottle. Place in box.

Repeat.

Last time, I needed a special formula to get the cork set properly. Slow at first, then force at the end. Today, it’s different. Matt has adjusted the corker. Less force required. The cork slides in cleanly.

Each bottle arrives from Dorji’s station filled and waiting. There’s a brief handoff between us before I set the cork.

It reminds me of running the 4 x 400 in track. The baton exchange was everything. Devastation when it was dropped, even if it wasn’t on your leg. I was always first runner, the one who passed rather than received.

Here, I receive.

I know for a fact that the very first bottle of wine ever produced and bottled in Bhutan fell during its handoff.

Splat.

Broken glass everywhere — and wine.

The line stopped.

Everything had to be cleaned before bottling could continue.

Ours doesn’t fall.

After a few bottles, the rhythm settles. Dorji passes. I receive. Cork. Case. Repeat.

The music does its job, pumping us up for the work. I’m bouncing now, moving to the beat while keeping time with the line. Dorji bounces across from me. Cases fill. Then disappear. The work becomes light, almost playful, even as it stays precise.

There isn’t enough wine in the bottle filler to keep the line moving. We wait while it refills.

“Breathe” by The Prodigy comes on. Of all songs. I would have loved to be working during that one. Instead, I dance and lip sync the lyrics.

The waiting stretches. I sit down and open my library book — The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson. A story about writers and a different kind of alcohol. Bottling paused. Pages turning.

When we restart, it doesn’t last long. The sediment hasn’t fully settled, and the filter begins to struggle. The decision is practical. We stop. We’ll return next week.

Bottling finishes barely forty minutes after it began.

Dorji convinces me to stick around for cheese momos and onion and chili bhajis. We sit and chat, the urgency gone. The line is quiet now.

I leave the winery partially satisfied. I showed up. I did my job. There’s still more work to do.

Hobo and Oscar follow me all the way home.

Listening Notes

The line moves to rhythm.

No repeats. Just enough tempo to keep the hands working and the energy light. Music fills the pauses as much as the work itself.

Some songs you catch mid-motion. Others you miss completely.

“Breathe” came on while we waited.

I danced anyway.

BWC Bottling: Marp Reserve

🔗 https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/bwc-bottling-marp-reserve/pl.u-JPAZyKquMvAXK

Built for Bose speakers and long runs of repetition.