sonoma county
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Note from Home: Pandemic Countdown
January 5, 2021 09:33
When the Pandemic began mid-March, and the shelter in place orders were sent out to all of us, I began a weekly series of Notes from Home. Originally A Note from Home was a quarterly newsletter to our wine club members. I morphed the concept into what is now ten months of almost weekly notes. 2020 had many 'interesting' topics from COVID Operations to Shared Experiences. Coming up with something to write about was no problem.
As I began each note I used a writing trick a long-ago friend of mine shared with me. Her aunt wrote a weekly column for a local town paper and when writing a new story, she wrote ‘Dear Vivian’ at the top in order to be inspired but this line didn’t appear in print. Vivian was her much loved mother and inspiration. So I used the same format for my Notes-I think of one of you who have written back to me with your stories—Dear Phyllis (Mom), Dear John & Sheryl, Dear Jeff, Dear Kathy, Dear Rita and John, Dear Dean, Dear E, and so many more!
I think part of what gave me so much pleasure from writing these was the fact that it became an anchor for me each week. A much-needed regular part of my life and one where I could connect with you because, as I said last week, it is the shared experience which is key to our current situation.
As the new year approaches in a few short days (and happier days ahead is my new motto) it seems we all begin to make lists. Either a look back at the year “The Top 20 of 2020”or looking forward by making resolutions for 2021. I am including 10 of my favorite notes from the last 10 months as a recap of this pandemic 2020 Countdown:
March: The first and fittingly titled: How Are You Doing?
April: Learning Curves
May: COVID Operations
June: How You Doin'?
July: Celebrating Our Legacy
August: The Waiting is the Hardest Part
September: When Life Gives You Lemons
October: Resilience of a Vintage
November: Taking the Long View
December: Shared Experiences
I look forward to the time we will sit down in person, share a glass of wine and tell our stories of the pandemic and how we made our way through this challenging time. -
Note from Home: Shared Experiences
December 24, 2020 13:01
Time for a check in and to see how you are doing as we have come along together on this pandemic journey over the last 40 weeks. How are you doing as the days get shorter and we look to the New Year to bring us all some relief? I do know many of us are facing this pandemic with weary souls. A lockdown…again? Stricter guidelines…again? Seems like we’ll be wearing our masks for an eternity.
I was talking with a friend the other day, COVID-style via Zoom. We were shooting the breeze about the changes in the holiday season this year because, you know, COVID. I realized this is a rare time for our nation, state, town and neighborhoods-we are all sharing in similar experiences during this pandemic: staying at home, gathering together less and much smaller groups, and stemming the tide of the virus by following guidelines. We make changes in how we go about our lives and this month how we celebrate the holidays. At the very least we are required to wear masks and keep our distance out in public. Many more of us stay within our bubbles, work remotely or, if you are an essential worker, strive to remain safe. When I began to think about the virus, invisible except by the numbers, it struck me that this is one of those times where we are sharing an experience. We are in the same boat, some in deeper, more challenging water than others however.
As defined by my favorite resource Google: A shared experience is exactly what it sounds like: seeing, hearing, or doing the same thing as someone else. Although it's a simple concept, shared experiences have a deep impact on human socialization because they enhance each person's individual experience. A shared experience is any experience that causes individuals to identify with each other. Examples like these: Language, Nature, Art, Holidays, Meals, Rites of Passage, Hardship, Humor, Cultural Traditions. This pandemic is an experience we all share and really are in it together. We follow the rules not only for our own protection but the care and concern of those who are in need of protection.
This image was sent to me by Colin our Wine Club Manager who has two young children at home-Milo and Lucie. Outside of my grandsons he has the cutest kids around. Sometimes he takes Milo to work with him to pack up wine and the like because he is one of our staff members working remotely and 7 year old Milo is distance learning at home. While waiting for dad to finish Milo drew this picture of our iconic sign outside of our tasting room. It is a great rendition and he has talent! (You may not know this connection but his great-grandfather Elmo Barbieri worked in our tasting room years ago.) Father and son will remember this time-a memory they wouldn’t have if Milo attended school. A silver lining memory for the future.
The silver linings aren’t always easy to see while we are in the midst of things like the holidays and this pandemic. During these times it is worth taking a step back and seeing the world through the future, to a time when we look back and realize we made a way to reach out or not be discouraged, or when we look back at this time we spent working remotely, or pulling our hair out at trying to help children distance learn this shared experience will be what we remember. A milestone, a standing stone, a marker: remember the time we…
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Follow the Vineyard: Winter Among the Vines
December 1, 2020 11:23
My monthly chat with Mitch Blakeley on following the vines' progress and includes notes about the vineyard as it moves into winter dormancy and what we do in the transitional time between seasons.
Our Mother Clone vines are in their final fall color glory as I write this. In fact they are being pruned because the cold weather hit just a couple of weeks ago signaling to the vine it was time for the long winter’s nap.
There are still a few things to do in and around the vineyard as well as in the cellar. Mitch Blakeley, Vineyard Assistant, and I caught up the other day.
We had a big project along the creek, where we have the 50 acres of Bordeaux varieties planted. With some heavy rains a couple of years ago it brought down large trees and bushes which began to divert the water into the banks along the vineyard avenue causing heavy erosion. There is also an issue with debris down a little further doing the same thing with so much brush and it was changing the direction of the creek. The vineyard crew spent a good part of October and November cleaning it up, quite a large project. But it is good to have it done so the water no longer eats away at the bank.
In the vineyard we started a little earlier than we wanted to prune. What happened is the freeze came and no wind. This began the shut off in the vine signaling dormancy and the leaves and canopy were just hanging there. With the leaves blocking the end of the cane it takes longer to prune because you want to trim at the right cut-the place where the next year’s crop begins. This is where the two buds at the base of the year old cane are located. We started in the Zinfandel; by end of week they’ll be close to halfway through half of the acreage. A good start to the 100 acres that needs to be pruned. The Right Cut.
Overall the next couple of months are pretty quiet. Some of the vineyard crew works in the cellar too-special labeling projects and club shipments. Others work on equipment to get it ready for chopping-and keep other tractors etc in working condition.
In getting ready for spring we typically begin to seed a cover crop (bell beans) now but we have found foreign grasses and weeds in our vineyard and are trying to eradicate them so we will be skipping this year in order to gain some control of the weeds mixed into the cover crop. I’ll be taking a webinar on soil amendments to see if there are other ways of bringing nutrition to the vineyard and other insights to spring time applications. We are also in contact with the irrigation company to set up tools to monitor vines using moisture and these tools will help us know when best to irrigate and how much in order to made sure we aren’t over watering or over using such a precious resource.
After we talked I thought about his comment that things are pretty quiet around here. Once I wrote up the notes it sounds like there is a lot more going on than Mitch let on-but that is pretty much the way we operate around here.
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#PairItWithPed: In Port We Trust
December 1, 2020 11:11
Port and the holidays go hand in hand and so does winter-the cold weather just calls for a little extra something at the end of the evening. Our Four Grapes Vintage Port is a traditional style dessert wine. I'll pair up what I think are some great recipes with this dessert wine-savory or sweet you'll find something to pair up this winter.
First up some background on why we make a traditional style of Port. To be clear this isn’t a late harvest wine-it is made from four Portuguese varieties we have planted on the Home Ranch: Tinta Madeira, Tinta Cao, Souzao and Touriga Nacional. It isn’t the last fruit in during harvest, rather it is picked when ready. Once the fermenting has begun the process is stopped by adding neutral spirits (unaged Brandy) in order to have some residual sugar. Typically there is 19% alcohol and 9% residual sugar.
Why did we choose to make this wine? Our neighbors Raymond Burr and Robert Benevides were the first to plant these varieties in Dry Creek Valley. They did this for two reasons: Robert is of Portuguese heritage and Raymond wanted a wine he loved to be served to his many guests to their ranch. We made the first vintage in 1990. Coming from a half acre there was too much for their guests so we bottled it under Burr-Benevides Vineyard and it became very popular in our tasting room as guests discovered its unique qualities. Winemaker John Pedroncelli traveled to Portugal and the Douro Valley to learn more about this dessert wine and how he should go about making it here in California. The rest is history, well almost.
The vineyard first planted by Burr-Benvevides became a victim of virus and only a few years later needed to be pulled up. Our sales were doing so well John decided to make way for the four grapes to be planted on the Home Ranch. These vines are now 25 years old and well established. The combination makes a delicious fortified wine-one that ages for 3 or more years in neutral barrels which adds the necessary complexity and layers of flavor. Today there are only a handful of acres of these varieties in California but did you know American vintners have been making port-style fortified wines for almost two centuries. Prior to Prohibition, port wines accounted for about 20 percent of all domestic wine production. At the turn of the 20th century port was California’s best-selling sweet wine. In the years prior to Prohibition, California wineries made about 5 million gallons of port annually. Even during Prohibition, port accounted for about 20% of all legally produced California wine.
To experience this tasty wine I have a few recommendations. I am one of those Cheese Course enthusiasts where the cheeses complement the wine-using blue mostly but I would suggest an aged Gouda as well. A simple brownie sundae especially with a dark chocolate sauce would do nicely. Reduced and poured over vanilla ice cream is a winner too. Simply in a glass shared with friends and family is another way to end a meal and a memorable evening. And if you have the patience this wine develops well with time in the cellar.
A few highlights from the collection on our website-happy baking and cooking with this versatile wine!
My favorite 3 ingredient recipe comes from an event a Dry Creek Kitchen several years ago. I named it Portspresso as it is a 50/50 blend of both espresso and our Port with a dollop of chocolate whipped cream! Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen has carried our Four Grapes Vintage Port since the day they opened!
Ed developed this Pork Tenderloin with Port Sauce recipe many years ago and it stands the test of time.
These Mini Chocolate Cupcakes Cousin Maureen Davison made were based on a recipe I found on the internet using Cabernet-I asked her to incorporate the Port and she created these tasty little treats.
Brownies! With port-soaked dried cherries and a ganache that gilds the lily. This recipe was shared with me by Joanne Young of Robert Young Estate and she used our port in it. It has been a star dessert over the years. Port Soaked Dried Cherry Brownies with Port Chocolate Ganache
As an appetizer these French Onion Bites with Port-Onion Jam developed by Tasting Room Manager Gary will be the perfect starter (and the bonus is if there is enough leftover ‘jam’ you can use it in many ways including as its own side dish).
There are so many recipes to enjoy either with our Four Grapes Port or including it in a dish. Enjoy pairing your favorite dessert or dish and let me know your perfect Port pairing. Send me the recipe (julie@pedroncelli.com)there is always room for more on our page.
Our Portuguese blocks in the fall.
Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Vintage, Four Grapes Port
Categories: PairItWithPed | Port
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Note from Home: Rooted in Connections
December 1, 2020 11:08
The other day I was helping out with the curbside pick-up of our November Wine Club Selections. Club members pulled up to the cellar door and drove away with their orders. It was one of those truly beautiful fall days here in Dry Creek Valley. Blue skies, warm sun and the autumn color in the Mother Clone vineyard just across the way made the afternoon so perfect. It made me think back to how many friends have stopped by to pick up wine over the decades from my grandfather then my father. I was struck by the thought that we all share a love of wine and, like the vines in front of me, are in turn connected to each other, even generationally.
I have written about grapevines and their physiology before. Lance, my brother-in-law and the vineyard manager, has compared vines to people when he talks about how they respond to heat-they wilt like we do, they seek to protect the crop by slightly moving to shade the fruit like an umbrella. I have heard how some vines have roots that measure 40 feet because they are looking for water to survive. They like to branch out too-sometimes almost too much as the canopy above becomes jungle-like before the vineyard crew works at managing the growth. The vines even need a drink of water after they are done with harvest. Sounds to me like there are some similarities!
Last weekend it was nice to see old friends and new. The experience reminded me of those Mother Clone vines-how their roots go deep to establish a well-connected network. That system supports and sustains the vines throughout the growing season and over the years. A natural benefit of making wine for 90 years and sharing with everyone, from neighbors to across the nation and globally, creates the bond between us and you. Our wine club is another way we stay in touch and is how we remain connected. At the tasting room there is the exchange of conversation, the fun of finding something you like, and sharing with friends and family. Once home we are connected whether by phone or through these emails or virtual events.
While the vineyards are immune to COVID they do progress through the fall and into the winter by being connected to the seasons, to the climate and the soil in which they are planted. These are vital to the life of the vineyard. Connection is what we look for as the nights get longer and winter looms. Something about the chill in the air makes us seek out those warm places-usually a pub, a restaurant or coffee house. Right now we are finding out how cozy our kitchen table, living room or dining room is as we find those places are right in our own homes.
Of course, there are many ways we can stay connected. The usual suspects include the phone calls, emails, letters, virtual visits. As the days continue to get shorter and the holidays approach we look to these relationships-those branches reaching out to connect with our past, present and future. Music, wine, politics, food, outdoor activities, quilting, play groups for kids or dogs. As long as we keep our eyes open and see those around us-distanced or not-we are rooted, like the vines, and connected.
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Note from Home: Taking the Long View
December 1, 2020 10:58
I was talking to some folks this week about my grandparents and what they would think about the pandemic. I imagined them saying ‘we made it through some great challenges in the early days, we think you can outlast the current crisis.’ They took the long view knowing they staked everything to make the move and created a legacy.
I often wonder what went through their minds when they bought the property in 1927. First, and most importantly, it became a home to raise the family and to support them. Prohibition had already gone on for 8 years, surely it will end soon (not for another six years). The economy would hold up wouldn’t it? Nope the Great Depression began 2 years later. Many obstacles met this young family and they adapted to their conditions: expanded the farm to provide food (my grandmother made her own cheese for instance and preserved foods to get through the winter); my grandfather developed a network of buyers (head of households who could apply for a permit) for the grapes in order to keep the vineyard going, they worked as a family in the vineyard and later the cellar, and they tightened their belts to get by once the hard times hit.
Feel a little familiar? Taking the long view is something we do naturally here at Pedroncelli. Taking the long view from the beginning helped my grandparents get through the tough times including the challenges along with the ups and downs of the economy with a recession thrown into the mix every few years (there have been 12 since 1945).
And now we have a pandemic. I guess one needs to come around once a century to keep us on our toes. So how do we take the long view of something predicted to go on for another six months or so?
I read a great quote in the paper the other day, “My kind of mantra going into the holiday season is that when it comes to COVID, it’s not what you do, but how you do it,” says Iahn Gonsenhauser, an internist and the chief quality and patient safety officer at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. This is good advice for the holidays and beyond.
It’s not what you do but how you do it. Keep this in mind as the state and nation urge us to keep within our bubbles, to wear our masks, to keep our distance physically. The other side of this is finding ways to celebrate the big and small occasions, how to connect if we are far from someone we love, how to make each day count instead of counting how many days the pandemic has gone on or how long we have to go.
Living this life of wine, blessed with two generations behind me and 2 generations ahead of me, frames my outlook on life. While what my grandparents did to get through the difficult times wasn’t glamorous or fun they made it through. It is how they did it-with hope for the future and looking to better days ahead. For me those better days include family meals, going to a favorite restaurant, travel, wine club gatherings, tasting events, hugging, hanging out and seeing all of you-with a glass of wine in my hand of course!
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Note from Home: Reflecting Thanks
November 26, 2020 10:16
Reflection on the year, as it winds down to less than six weeks before we celebrate a new one, seems to begin with the Thanksgiving holiday. I think we can all agree it has been an unusual year with the pandemic, the challenges met and answered in homeschooling, the workplace, the harvest and beyond.
I like the word reflection. It is a rich and deep word with 9 meanings according to Google and Merriam Webster. Reflections in a mirror show us who we are, as is. Inner reflection guides us and requires us to take time to think things through. Reflection of light, maybe through the autumn leaves or straight on sunlight, means there is a source and a receiver. Reflecting on this year has me thankful for so much.
I am thankful for our safety, both family and staff, from the virus as well as from the fires.
I am thankful for the heroic first responders including those working in the medical field, fire and police departments. All are brave and deserve our thanks for doing their utmost to protect us.
I am thankful to have welcomed a new grandson this year and to watch him grow by leaps and bounds as well as spend time with our other two virtually and in person.
I am thankful for my husband’s sense of humor because frankly I need it most of the time. Most of the time.
I am thankful for the ability to connect electronically with people I’d have missed seeing this year due to travel restrictions.
I am thankful for all of you who have responded to the many notes from home I have sent over the last few months. I am determined to see this pandemic out with a note to you each week.
How do you make giving thanks tangible or visible? How do we reflect thanks? Lizzy, from our tasting room, had a great idea for a Gratitude Vine where guests could fill out a tag and add it to the branches. We have hundreds of them over time.
Even though you can’t come and fill out your own tag here you can create your own ‘vine’ at home. Branch out and send a simple ‘thank you for being a friend’ note (both Ed and I have been the recipient of notes from our friend Barb-over the last 25 years!). Give thanks around the table or virtually. Donate your time or money and the ripple effect benefits both you and the recipient. There are so many ways to show thankfulness. The best part is it keeps on giving, uplifting others by reaching out and in turn you are uplifted too. In times like these it is thankfulness that helps us through each day.
Thank you for reading and I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
Tags: note from home, Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Vintage, Thanksgiving
Categories: Note from Home | Thanksgiving | COVID | Pandemic
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#PairItWithPed: Mushrooms!
November 2, 2020 14:40
I still remember the first time I attempted making sautéed mushrooms for dinner when I was around 18. It was the rare chance that my mom was out of town and it was just my dad and I kicking around for dinner. The recipe? I 'didn't need one' and boy was that a mistake. I wanted to try mushrooms in a red wine sauce. It was an unmitigated disaster-it was just mushrooms in red wine-no butter, shallot, garlic, salt or pepper. Yuck. My dad also scratched one of my mom's frying pans making his steak. Needless to say we didn't eat the mushrooms.
Well I am here to tell you if I stopped then I wouldn’t have developed a love for these bites of tastiness. Over the course of many meals either homemade or enjoyed at friends’ homes and restaurants the mushroom (or should I say funghi?) is one of the foods I think matches well with wines. Sometimes it’s the sauce, the protein or the combination of herbs and spices. In my opinion it is the most versatile of all the vegetables and there are unlimited options for pairing up with the right wine.
There is another way to test out the funghi factor. I learned this from the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) program. One of the tests is designed to help find out how foods interact with wine and they chose the mushroom as the trial pairing. Pour a sample of wine-white or red-and eat a bite of raw mushroom and assess. Then put another mushroom in the microwave for a few seconds to ‘cook’ it or roast a mushroom and then take a bite with the same wine. And there you have it, a way to find out how food and wine, in raw and cooked form, work together.
The cooler weather (between yesterday and today we went from 86 degrees to 61 degrees) makes me think of all the dishes I can make with the wonderful mushroom-either as the star or as a supporting player. This is the best time of year according to my sensibilities! I love the weather change, the meals that come with the cooler season including slow cookers, braising, stews and soups. In my humble opinion I truly believe mushrooms were made to go with wine!
For ease of finding all the recipes I talk about here I have put them into one easy to find folder entitled Mushrooms on our website.
Salads & Sides:
I developed the Portobello and Parmigiana Salad for a wine dinner I hosted a while ago. I was trying to find a way to bridge the salad dressing with the wine (Pinot Noir) and I came up with adding some of the ‘jus’ from the roasted Portobello. -the great thing about the dressing is I included a small amount of the mushroom ‘jus’ to the dressing-bridging the salad with the wine for a flawless pairing.
This warm and lemony spinach salad takes the chill off of a cold evening. If you want to add some flavor I’d substitute bacon fat for the sauté of the mushrooms and garlic. Paired up with a nice glass of Chardonnay. Spinach Salad with Mushrooms, Croutons and Warm Lemon dressing.
Local chef Michele Anna Jordan always puts together great wine-friendly recipes. This one uses root vegetables as a base for the mushrooms. Roasted lamb or beef would make a great side to this side: Sautéed Mushrooms Over Parsnip, Celery Root, & Potato Purée
Would you like to wow your guests over the holidays? Try this bowl of deliciousness featuring mushrooms and tangy goat cheese. Our Rosé would go nicely especially with some turkey on the plate. Focaccia Bread Pudding with Mushrooms & Goat Cheese
Stews & Soups:
I have been making this Wild Mushroom Soup ever since I found it in a newsletter by Julee Rosso (of Silver Palate fame). I was lucky enough to subscribe over a couple of years and many of her recipes are in my rotation. This one however gets the most play especially now during the holidays. Serve it as an appetizer, pour it in demitasse cups for a buffet or serve up a bowl during the week-made ahead it just gets better. Pinot Noir is my choice as a pairing.
Ed and I came up with this recipe in our early years of marriage-a take on Beef Bourguignon-Beef Mother Clone starring our flagship Zin and we gilded the lily with dried porcini. Long cooking tenderizes the beef and the flavors meld perfectly. I recommend pairing with any of our Zinfandels!
Mains:
Portobellos are very versatile as you can roast and slice like a steak or make this Quinoa Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms-don’t skip the prosciutto which adds a nice salty kick. Pair up with our Merlot for a tasty combination.
Ribeye Steak with Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Blue Cheese, from local chef Michele Anna Jordan, has a secret ingredient-Porcini Powder. Along with the black trumpet mushrooms (if you don’t have any of these you can substitute shitake or morel) you have an amazing steak dish with depth of flavor. Pair with any of our Cabernet Sauvignons-you won’t be disappointed!
Slow cookers are the greatest kitchen help during the fall and winter-I always love walking in the door and taking in the wonderful aromas of a long cooked meal. The Slow Cooker Beef with Pasta & Porcini is one of those fragrant and virtually easy dishes to make with deep flavors to boot. Pair up with our Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Follow the Vineyard: Into the Fall
November 2, 2020 11:08
My monthly visit with Mitch Blakeley, fourth generation family member and vineyard assistant, was delayed because he and Lance, his father, took off for a vacation following harvest. Here is his report as Fall begins in the vineyards.
Clean up is the focus at this time of the year-routine for post-harvest. The vineyard crew’s focus is on bringing nutrition to the vines and one of those is in the form of pomace-the dried skins and seeds left from the pressing of the new wine. This adds nitrogen to the soil and gives the vine a little ‘pick me up’ after the long growing season. More nitrogen will be applied right before the rains. Mitch noted we’ll need a good solid rain for this-so we are waiting on the rain season to begin.
There is also some life in the canopy of the vines (leaves and canes are still green or turning color) so we’ll water them through the drip system. This is par for the course as this practice usually follows harvest. Wouldn’t you be thirsty after going through harvest? Usually the vineyard gets two irrigation cycles and this year a third because it is so dry. The next stage is putting the vines to bedthey need to go dormant before the next stage of vineyard work begins-pruning. When the ground temperature is too warm and the vine is pruned too early it might push out buds-way too soon for that so restructuring where their energy is put into is key. Irrigating softens the soil and helps the vines to go deeper and access nutrients. Roots go dormant when it gets colder and this is what we wait for-the temperatures to dip into the 30’s.
Other prep work includes spreading hay which mitigates erosion along the vineyard avenues. This year there is time for basic clean up: the creeks and drainage ditches for flood control. There are larger projects down on Dry Creek-wild grapevines need to be cleaned out as they catch debris and causes erosion as the water backs up. Since harvest finished in September and the rain is staying away for now it gives us more time to do this type of project. Ultimately the watersheds will flow cleaner.
Many thanks to Mitch for the update. It is a different kind of fall-I read a report which noted this is the first time since 1897 that no rain fell in the months of September and October. Mitch notes the pumpkins on his west-facing porch scorched this year. History has a way of repeating itself. If we don’t get the rains early, it will be a condensed winter. Because a lot of land has burned maybe the lack of rain will be good and save the hills from mudslides and deep erosion. As farmers we depend on the weather and look toward winter for rain and the continuation of the cycle.
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Note from Home: Settling into the Season
November 2, 2020 11:01
As I write this note the time change comes tonight for many of us here in the United States. With it comes a slight disturbance in our daily patterns-it will be lighter in the morning and darker as 5pm approaches. It is my favorite time of year-not the time change but the turning of the season as fall approaches winter. No doubt we have had a few changes to our daily patterns in the last 8 months.
This time was also known as the travel season for me. Hopping on a plane and working in my markets about every other week has been postponed for the time being. Believe me I don’t miss the early morning rush to get to the airport and of course the stress that goes along with travel-getting there on time, meeting new people (I’m an introvert remember?) and logging time in a car with someone I hadn’t met before and engaging with them about wine. I actually do miss that last part.
Other changes include not going to my office where I had been for 35 years (outside of the travel of course). Here I am writing this note from my home in Healdsburg. I am well aware of the changes and sacrifices made by our staff and you at home. Some of you are first responders and have worked tirelessly to stem this tide. Others of us are trying to educate their kids. Even more are just getting things done in spite of the changes.
When I think back to the years before airplanes, before the internet, before the ‘pacing in front of the microwave’ waiting the 30 seconds it takes to heat up my coffee I am reminded of simpler times. The holiday decorations didn’t become available in October. We took time to enjoy the season, settling into the rhythms of the days leading up to the year’s end. The rat race all but did away with the enjoyment of a single day and what it could bring. Taking time now will help us all appreciate the quiet moments.
We are finding ways to reach you-this note from home and your notes back to me from your home, phone calls and virtual tastings. The holidays will be different this year but this is something we already know and have been practicing for eight months. We may zoom across the table this year, or have mini family gatherings compared to other years. But central to it all, and perhaps even more special this year, will be the connections we make around a table or device and a good bottle of wine. (Ours we hope!)
Tonight I’ll get to see what my grandsons have dressed up in for Halloween. We’ll see it from photos or videos our kids send to us. The season is changing. With this change we all make way in our lives for doing things differently and settle into the coming days and weeks with the assurance that the next season upon us will be filled with gratitude for the big and small things in our lives.
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