"These volunteers are an integral part of what we do"

"These volunteers are an integral part of what we do"

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Story Published: May 7, 2007 at 6:11 PM PDT

Story Updated: May 7, 2007 at 6:16 PM PDT

By Denise Whitaker

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SEATTLE - How much thought or money do you put into choosing a bottle of wine? Locals who really want to know more about wine are putting their own time into their favorite wineries.

At a small South Seattle warehouse, it's not paid workers in a large factory, but skilled volunteers who are bottling wine right alongside Cadence Winery owner and winemaker Ben Smith.

"The volunteers are an integral part of what we do," Smith said. "We couldn't afford anything else, quite honestly."

Smith will use about 120 volunteers in five bottling sessions.

"This is a great way to meet other people who are interested in wine and it's a good group effort here to see how fast you can go," said volunteer Tom Wolken.

They'll bottle more than 1,500 cases this year. But just because they're volunteers, don't think they aren't sticklers for quality.

"Everybody has a responsibility for keeping an eye on the process," Wolken said. "So here, I'm looking at the fill level and making sure the fill is correct and also the height of the cork. The cork should be even with the top of the bottle."

The bottling process used to need more volunteers, because they would need six people on six of these hand corkers. But today, they have just one automated corker.

Once the cork is good and the bottle is dry, it gets a foil seal.

"This is the machine that takes practice," said Jan Douglas. "I mean you gotta really be good at it, because this is the thing that, I go to restaurants and I look for the crinkle."

Then the label needs to roll on perfectly or it will be tossed aside with other rejected bottles.

It's all food -- or wine -- for thought, the next time you take a sip.

Most of the small wineries in Washington use volunteers. You can contact your favorite winery to see if they need any help.

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