For the faithful of winedom, a great vineyard is holy land, and its sacred soil is your lifeblood. You walk, breathe, and live each day on the land. There is an emotional connection that takes hold of you, grabs you by the shoulders, and looks you in the eyes. As I write these words, I am gazing at our golden, rounded hillside, where majestic black oaks has stood strong for centuries. How is it that a tree can outlive a human being? We are not immortal. And then comes the deeper question: can a wine be timeless? Winedom is made of family farmers and winegrowers, people devoted to the sanctity of life, family, and the vine. This year we celebrate a quarter century of winemaking and fifty-seven years of winegrowing. It has me thinking deeply about our legacy, and how we might make it immortal, so that it lives on for centuries to come.

The first twenty five years... let's begin. A young couple in the twenties fell in love. What drew them to each other was their work ethic, their passion for the Vitis Vinifera and entrepreneurial spirit. First, farming is not easy. There is a mind of farmer that is like no other. You must love working with your hands, until you have so hard until they ache. Being an entrepreneur is another level... you can't survive without thick skin ---willing to put in the work long arduous hours from sun up to sun down until its done, solve the problem, from mechanical to solvancy. The impetus in life to seek greatness in the smallest of detail knowing it could be the key, the dimension and answer to it all. They had the land of winegrapes on the hillsides. It was time to make wine. Without a doubt, the only way to understand a fine wine is to understand the soils. They both believed in pushing the limits. When you are young and in love, anything is possible. They had no doubts, only the dream to make wine and a family together. Wine of place, and crafting it in a way of simplicity where the purest pleasure takes you to place where it will change your life forever.

Now back to my voice... Justin and I both acknowledge --- our parents laid  a strong foundation for us. Without a doubt, they are a part of us -- yet admittingly there is much we knew we would not do like them. We had our own ideals, own direction, belief is what we believed a fine wine was and a good marriage. We also knew it was only possible, together. We speak of family within our wines.