Packaging wine in stainless steel kegs for restaurant use is standard practice in Europe and is gaining ground in other states. We had some marvelous wine on tap in San Francisco in February and decided on the spot we needed to package our wines in kegs for the restaurant market.

Stainless steel kegs are the best means of packaging many wines for on-premise service because:

1) Wine stays fresher longer in kegs than in opened bottles. The 50^th glass from the keg will be as fresh as the 1^st, whether the keg was tapped 3 days or 3 weeks ago.

2) Kegs are far lighter than glass bottles-less than half the weight per serving-which means better fuel and labor economy in distribution.

3) The lifecycle energy requirements for filling, storing, delivering, and refilling wine in kegs is a fraction of the energy intensity of bottled wine.

4) Kegs are zero-waste, 100% reusable packaging.

Job Description: Assistants will gain hands-on experience in organic & biodynamic practices in grape and hop growing and wine & spirits making, working hand-in-hand with owners Anna and Lance Hanson. The work environment is dynamic and demands organization, thinking on the fly, creativity, juggling, strong listening and speaking skills, and a festive spirit after long, challenging projects. Good physical and mental health is a must.

Compensation: Commensurate with experience. Includes accommodations in 1500SF separate house with full kitchen overlooking original vineyard and the spectacular Eye of the Black Canyon. Jack Rabbit Hill is 30 min from Gold Medal fishing on the Gunnison River, 1 hr from white water rafting/kayaking in the Black Canyon National Park, 30 min from cross country skiing at 11,500’ on Grand Mesa, 2 hrs from Telluride, 2 hrs from Aspen, 1 hr from Powderdorn, 2 hrs from Crested Butte,1 hr from the enchanted Aspen groves on Kebler Pass, and 2 min from spectacular cycling, running and walking on Redlands Mesa.

Start Date: NOW

Contact Info: Send resume to lance@jackrabbithill.com.

Contact Address: Jack Rabbit Hill, PO Box 2004, 26567 North Rd, Hotchkiss, CO 81419

Contact Phone: 970-835-3677

Course 2:
Grilled pear salad with arugula, local chevre, and sherry vinaigrette served with Wisdom Farm chicken rillettes on toast point paired with the Jack Rabbit Hill Mesa Winds Farm Pinot Gris

Course 3:
Grilled whole Colorado trout wrapped in Long Farm bacon and stuffed with pine nuts and chard, served with roasted fingerling potatoes and tomato shallot marmalade paired with the Jack Rabbit Hill Chardonnay

Course 4:
Wisdom Farm chicken stuffed with dried cherries, MouCo camembert, and spinach and served over saute of house-made tasso and sweet potatoes with red wine cherry sauce paired with the Jack Rabbit Hill Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier Blend

Course 5:
Cinnamon apple pound cake served with apple butter and buttermilk gelato

Tickets for this event are $75 excluding tax and gratuity. Farm tours are available prior to dinner. For more details on the menu and/or accomodations, please call Melissa at 303.651.0630 or Anna at 970.835.3677 This event takes place Sunday, July 4th. Visit Terroir online for more info. Enjoy!

Our horn manure has a woodsy smell and spongy texture. Our 5 horns, here uncovered in the future hopyard, can make enough "500" compost tea to apply on 22 acres of grapes and 10 acres of hops throughout the year.

We now have over 10,000 baby hop plants acclimating to their new home on the north slope of Jack Rabbit Hill. Varieties: Cascade, Chinook, Crystal, Nugget and Northern Brewer.

With the moon in descent beginning in mid-May, we uncovered our 2010 horn manure on the 18th and stirred and sprayed it on the future hopyard over the next few days. Tom Smith of Summit Labs in Ft Collins delivered our very happy baby hop plants on Friday, May 21st. We planted the next week until the last plantlet and it’s tiny rootball was in the ground yesterday afternoon.

For more info on CSR’s unique program, check out http://www.culinaryschoolrockies.com/farm-to-table/farm-to-table-experience.php.

The horn manure spray stimulates life (fungus, animals and plants!) in the ground, which in turn keep our vines, hops, pasture, and livestock happy!  Our 5 horns above can make a year’s worth of “compost tea” for our entire farm!