2010 Top Ten

How golden the sun on December’s last day,
Not rainy like last year’s —now faraway.
A brisk winter’s afternoon light fills the sky
And the colored bulbs wait for the moment when night
Descends all around us, a new year’s fresh start
As we all celebrate in the bright of this dark.

Happy New Year, One and All – Stephanie, Scott, Samuel, and Jack

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2010 Top Ten Highlights (in no particular order)

1. Sold some wine!
2. The Grande Dalles’ wine and story are getting out.
3. David Rosengarten told us he found Leroy’s Finest the best American Riesling he’s ever tasted.
4. Proper sleeping arrangements are now in order.
5. Sea turtles.
6. We got an up close look inside The Machine.
7. Thankfully, our grapes ripened just right.
8. Our third harvest, and Sam turned two!
9. Samuel started asking for his own glass of wine at dinner.
10. Little House on the Hill Project takes a shape.

1. Sold some wine! Yippee! Enough said.

2. The Grande Dalles’ wine and story are getting out. Snooth.com. Z!nk Magazine. Food & Wine. Behind the Burner. Oregon Wine Press. We’re doing it. Slowly but surely, we’re doing it.

3.  David Rosengarten told us he found Leroy’s Finest the best American Riesling he’s ever tasted. Now that’s quite a 2010 highlight, but because it has not been officially announced in print by Mr. R., we haven’t been able to run far with it. But we still have our private luncheon at The Grand Central Oyster Bar he asked us to join him at during our late Spring New York City media trip, and a total of four people who heard him say the same thing, so there.

4. Proper sleeping arrangements are now in order. The sacrifices for The Grande Dalles have been big, and one felt every day was from the tiny, 19^th century farmhouse we ended up living in as result. Just let’s say that the 1.5 years Scott spent sleeping on a floor futon and my time on the couch due to the creaky stairs that would awaken our little boy if we tried to sneak up to our own bed, are now gone. Now in still a modest but much larger home (North Portland ‘50s Ranch), the creaky stairs are fully gone, and we can sleep in our own bed again. Hurrah!

5. Sea turtles. They couldn’t have come at a better time, late January off of Kauai, the first family vacation we really had since planting the vineyard in 2006. While seemingly random, the message I took from this encounter while out snorkeling was, despite the rough seas, there are small moments that enrich our lives, so slow down, stay grounded, and enjoy. Now if I could keep that thought…

6. We got an up close look inside The Machine. That would be the wine industry machine. Jokingly referred to by a buddy as being like the mafia, I chuckled when she said it, but now being directly in it this past year, and peeking in on it for some years prior, I see what she might mean: crime abounds, with criminal acts of stolen fruit and stolen wine, and wine-crimes like mother nature cover-ups; also, there’s a very distinct code of conduct, a “proper” way of entry that’s akin to kissing the don’s hand; there are wine families galore, each staking out its own territory; and only a handful of puppet masters pulling the strings. Why do I call this a highlight? Now we know what we’re up against. And to quote Cold Play, “If you never try, you never know.” Now we know.

7. Thankfully, our grapes ripened just right. After this touch-and-go year, we did it. We had to let our babies hang longer on the vine so the acids could come down a bit, and that means the sugars (and alcohol) are higher than what we’d typically aim for, but the measurements show the acid-alcohol balance to be just right.

8.  Our third harvest, and Sam turned two! How can be? How the years go by. Nothing better to mark the passing years than wine that captures it all in a bottle, all that happened, on our land, to us, it’s right there; or if you prefer, through the changes of a growing little boy…and speaking of little boys…

9. Samuel started asking for his own glass of wine at dinner. What a joy, as our little choo-chee learns to speak, and what a surprise, what he comes out with. “Own wine,” is how he puts it.

10. Little House on the Hilltop Project takes a shape. Even if only on paper, our Austrian architect friends captured its essence. What a relief, when someone “gets” The Grande Dalles. I had hoped to get it built last year, but that turned out to be wishful thinking/dreaming. Somehow we need to raise funds. One day, one day.