This vintage offers something new and exciting for the Pride Mountain Vineyards crew - we are hosting our first international harvest intern, Mari de Jager from South Africa. Mari joins the team after completing a degree in cellar management at the University of Stellenbosch and working stints in Champagne, Austria and at Vilafonte Winery where she trained under renowned winemaker Zelma Long. Her outgoing personality and her enjoyment for long days of hard work made her an instant hit with her new coworkers at Pride Mountain Vineyards, and she is here pictured paying homage to Lucy and Ethyl by stomping our first Merlot grapes of the season with her bare feet. Although we don't usually crush our grapes this way, we thought it was an appropriate induction, and Mari was happy to oblige! Be sure to say hi to Mari if you visit the winery during her stay, which will last through the end of the year. Mari will begin a degree program in enology when she returns to South Africa.