Shier Winery

I cleared the deficiency letter, despite the letter having the wrong address and never having been delivered to me.  After nearly two months of waiting for a response from the NYSLA, I called and found out about the letter.  The department faxed me a copy, which included relatively minor requests.  Now I'm waiting on final approval from the licensing board.  In the meantime, with all of the rain  in New York, the grass was growing out of control in the vineyard.  I worked on the grass for a few hours to try to get it back in shape.

I was fingerprinted today by L-1 Enrollment Services in connection with the background check for the liquor license.  The last time I was fingerprinted was in California when obtaining my real estate license in 1998.  Back then I went to the police station in San Diego.  The cops used black ink and pushed my hand with quite a bit of force to make the marks on the card.  It's been 14 years, and nowadays the process is electronic with a scanner and not nearly as hostile.

I stopped by Home Depot and picked up two 36 x 72 inch plexi-glass sheets.  After some trial and error on the jigsaw, I managed to build this: It is a splash guard for the electrical panel.  What a challenge cutting that door!  I am going to mount the box from the two beams directly above the electrical panel. Heckeroth Plumbing installed this double-wide wash basin sink with sump pump.  The hot water hose for rinsing the fermentation tanks is sitting in the left basin.

I am happy to announce that the Shier Winery license application is now pending before the New York State Liquor Authority.  Unfortunately, they've misspelled the name of Shier Winery as "Sheir Winery."  I'm told that no one gets through without a deficiency notice, so I look forward to being told what is missing or incorrect in the application.  The submitted application, by the way, was as thick as a phone book. Below is a link to the NYSLA License search tool. http://www.trans.abc.state.ny.us/servlet/ApplicationServlet?pageName=com.ibm.nysla.data.publicquery.PublicQuerySuccessfulResultsPage&validated=true&serialNumber=2184260&licenseType=FW

As the Shier Winery becomes licensed, its time to plumb the lines and get the physical plant in order.  Sickler's Glass in Ulster Park, New York will be installing 86 inch high by 1/2 inch thick tempered glass panels that will enclose the bonded winery area, excluding any personal property of yours truly.  To prepare for fermentation tanks, plumbing modification are needed so I can rinse and drain the tanks.  A double-wide wash basin and pump will provide for drainage.   An overhead spigot will provide for spray hose connections above the tanks. Before installation of water line, drain pump and wash basin. The Shier lab before installation of tempered glass.

Earlier today, I received an email with the following message, "This is to advise you that the status of your Permits Online application  ... has changed to Approved."  Hooray!  That means the Shier Winery is now approved at both the local level (Town of Esopus) and the federal level (Federal Basic Permit).  It is time to move on to the last leg in the winery approval process, ie., the New York State Liquor Authority.  The NYSLA does not have an electronic application system, so I'll need to prepare 40+ pages of printed material including color photographs, surety bonds, and the like.  It's good to have some momentum.   Below is a link to the TTB's website: http://www.ttb.gov/