Forty years ago, a young French enology student (Bernard Camman) sent me a letter asking if we would accept him as an intern for the harvest. Having been interns in France ourselves, it was easy to say “yes!” And hence began our longstanding tradition of welcoming a French intern into our home. Many of those interns have become close family friends who we see regularly on our visits to France.
It seemed apropos to welcome our 40th intern, Raphaël Gleize, to the winery on Bastille Day, July 14th. Raphaël (or Raphie as we call him) arrived in the US three weeks before and spent a few days in New York City before flying to San Francisco where he began a road trip with fellow interns. He did the classic French intern road trip…from San Francsico down the coast stopping in Monterey, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. Then they headed east to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Sequoia National Park and back to San Francisco where he met his parents and sister who, a few days later, brought him to Alexander Valley.
Raphie began as all of our interns have begun…on the bottling line. Not a lot of fun, but Raphie brought a smile and diligence to the job. He learned early on about our morning break routine where we gather for coffee and sweet treats. His first coffee was an espresso, but then he discovered iced vanilla lattes which has become his signature drink.
After three weeks of bottling, we headed to the mountains for a well-deserved long weekend in the mountains. Relaxing as it may sound, it was a bit of work because we (six adults and one 6-year-old!) went backpacking! Raphie was instrumental in carrying some of the heavier items as well as entertaining 6-year-old Marie both on the trail and at the campsite.
We returned to Alexander Valley to begin preparation (aka cleaning all the equipment) for harvest. Raphie became a master of the hose and although he had rubber boots, he always seemed to wear his tennies and had to let them dry during lunch. We picked for Blanc de Blancs on August 18 and 19 and learned quite quickly that Raphie was not a morning person. Iced vanilla lattes always seemed to help. Harvest for Blanc de Blancs requires cool morning temperatures, so we began at 2 am and each box of grapes is dumped directly into the press. Raphie and Ricardo easily became in sync and were very efficient. A good early morning workout!

Kate and Grace have grown up with interns their entire life. As kids, they would love playing tricks on the interns. Now that they are adults, one would guess that that activity was over…wrong! Grace loves her snacks and so does many of the rest of us, Raphie included. Unbeknownst to Raphie, the girls put a fake rattlesnake in a large bag of gummy bear candies; they also hid a camera nearby to record his reaction. We all got a good laugh. Raphie was the best sport. The interns are never safe when Kate and Grace are around!
At home, we have enjoyed many meals together…Raphie is always at the ready to help especially when it comes to selecting the cheese platter or the chocolates for dessert or even doing the dishes. He did cook us his specialty, pasta carbonara! I am not a pasta guy, but his was delicious and I even had seconds! At the beginning of the internship, we avidly watched Le Tour de France; now we enjoy some spy thrillers or old war movies. I don’t know who enjoyed “The Great Escape” more…me or Raphie. We have cycled together on the weekends and while the rides are fun, I think it’s the lattes at the end of the ride which are his favorite part of the day.

Raphie is generous with his time and offers to babysit whenever the opportunity arises. Our grandkids, Marie and Cole, adore Raphie and scream his name with delight whenever he arrives and they will certainly be sad when he leaves for France. Raphie has become the master of the pizza oven, cooking our pizzas to perfection. Before he leaves, he has promised to teach me his technique!
A few weeks ago, Raphie returned to France for a long weekend to attend his brother’s wedding. He arrived back in time for my birthday and came laden with gifts of biscuits and chocolates. He really knows the way to my heart. Next week, Raphie will return to France to attend school. We will certainly miss his lovely smile, his kind presence and his genuine graciousness that he has brought to our family. We look forward to the day when we will be together again either back here or in la belle France.