New Barn going up...Pass the Trunnel

Posted 02/08/2008 at 04:15 AM by Dirk

If you have driven up Highway 29 recently, you have probably wondered, "What's going on at Nickel & Nickel?"  While I would like to think that everyone is thinking thoughts like this, all the time, it's because it's hard to miss noticing the post and beam frame going up behind the Sullenger House.

Last weekend we had a lot of wine club members stop by to taste. They were up in Oakville because Far Niente was releasing the 2005 Cabernet (I mentioned it last week – and, yes everyone did like that wine as much as promised.)  Everyone was asking about the new barn that was under construction.  It was raining and we had only half a roof in place.  Timing is everything. 

Traditional post and beam construction is cool. Every piece fits together perfectly (like one of those wood puzzles that I couldn't ever manage to solve).  They are fascinating to look at.  They even have their own vocabulary.  Special vocabularies are sort of the "secret handshake" that differentiates us from the people who "really know".  (My problem is that I over hear some of "the words," but then don't know the right time or way to use them.)

Disclaimer: I am a winemaker. Any construction terminology used here may be wrong, and the numerous corrections that get sent in will be immediately sent to the "compost folder department" of "dirty talk."  Please note that there is a librarian in the family and she does not permit the use of Wikipedia.

King Post.  Please define it and use it in a sentence.  A sentence such as, "Isn't that a great looking King Post?" is too vague to prove you know what it means.  If you walk into our current fermentation barn and look up, the fancy looking post that rests on a beam, and supports the ridge beam with four braces is a "King Post."  It's actually a King Post, not because it is fancy but because it is a vertical post on a "tie beam," and serves to support the "ridge beam" so it won't sag.  If you don't know a tie beam from a ridge beam,...tough. (I stood on that very beam in 2002. Once I got over the terror of being that high up, I knew that a 14" wide beam was not going to sag...therefore, I am not sure if ours is really a King Post or just cool looking.)

Beetle. Please avoid any mention of the bugs or the group (spelled with an "a").  A Beetle is a tool that resembles a hammer but has a very large head on it and is used for driving wedges, crushing things, beating things, flattening things, and smoothing things.  It is probably only smoothing those things that it has already crushed, beaten or flattened. (Actually, it sounds like the ideal time saver in the kitchen for mashed potatoes – one whack and bingo.)

Trunnel. Sounds like it should be the term for a train going through the chunnel from England to France ...  A Trunnel is the peg that is used to hold the timbers together. (The term may be from the old English 'treenail' which was common in ship building.  A smaller version of a Trunnel could be known as a "Nog," but that has evolved into being a golf tee!)  Therefore, the next time you are on the links, you can decide who gets the honors to "nog it up."  Obviously, the Beetle is for bashing the Trunnel and you will need a driver to bash the ball off the nog.  If you start talking about a mashie or a spoon, you are spending too much time thinking about golf.

The only way to tie this back to the winery is that we at Nickel & Nickel sign a Trunnel before Leif whacked it with the Beetle. So, somewhere in black and white, hidden inside a beam in our new barn, is a trunnel with our signatures!

E-Mail | Digg this! | del.icio.us
Dirty Talk on Wine RSS | Comments RSS for this post