Double take

A few weeks ago I was driving through the vineyards and out of the corner of my eye I spot this tiny garden. My first thought was that our farm workers were turning into hipsters, mostly because I totally thought that the scarecrow was a farm worker doing some lunch time yoga. On closer inspection it is just a simple vegetable garden with a simple scarecrow. I had to ask around to find out that the garden belongs to our vineyard manager, Miguel.
To me this is a great example of the passion you see in the wine industry. He spends 40-60 hours a week farming. He lives on the adjacent property. And yet in his spare time he is growing a garden.  This is not unusual in the wine industry. If you are invited to dinner at a winemakers home you will often get to sample both the wine they make at work and the alcoholic libations they make in their garage.
I personally cannot wait to take the next step of being a grown-up (buying a home). Once I make that move I will have space to make my own wine, cider, liqueurs or whatever spikes my interest. I also want a smoker and a vegetable garden. Ya gotta have good food to go with good wine.

It's in my blood

Why did I get involved in the wine industry? This is a question that I am asked constantly. My answer has been the same since my interest was peaked in my first wine class, Welcome to Washington Wines, at Yakima Valley Community College. It was meant to be a one credit class to fill my credit obligation, it turned into a life changing experience. My professor, Tania Krastanova, was so passionate and somewhat forceful about wine that I fell in love with the industry before I had ever tasted wine that I didn’t actively dislike. Tradition and technology, culture and science, farming and fancy people; this industry has everything! Then I was introduced to the wines at Paradisos del Sol in Zillah, Washington. I realized that you can make wines that you like. The winegrower Paul Vandenberg told me “I make wines I like, that way if they don’t sell I can drink it myself”.

None of that part of my story has changed. But just now as I let my mind wander I put some more pieces of the puzzle together. I come from farmers and loggers, on both sides. I never even entertained the thought that my interest may be in my genes. BUT, my grandfather and great grandfather were bootleggers in the olden days. The same grandfather let me help made hard cider from our homesteader orchard when I was very little. My father still has several stills in an old chicken coop at the old homestead. My grandma on the other side of my family was raised in a New England household were her mother made homemade wine from everything she could get her hands on, including the infamous dandelion wine. Both of my aunts have always made homemade schnapps from local berries and fruits. So I have come to the realization that booze, like farming is just in my blood!