When you tell people that you “own a winery,” three things happen:

1. Your listener gets a far-away look in their eyes, they sigh, and they say some version of “That sounds so lovely!”
2. They seem to assume that you are rolling in money.
3. They eventually ask, “Do you really crush the grapes with your feet?”

Well, I’m (only a little) sorry to break it to you:

1. We do not crush the grapes with our feet. Seriously, that sounds cold, messy, and seriously inefficient. And probably unsanitary. No feet.
2. We are not wealthy. In fact, owning a winery requires regular outlays of cash for labor, equipment, barrels, tests, bottles, labels, licensing, taxes, repairs… It’s a bit worrisome.
3. While it is nice to have a lot of wine always available, actually owning a winery is not what I would describe as “lovely.” Those idyllic photos of glamorous former city-dwellers wearing picturesque straw hats and cowboy boots as they stroll out into their vines? Staged. Trust me. They should be wearing hats, yes, but something that will block the sun AND the sweat. Boots are a great idea, but something with great support that you can tuck your long pants into, so you don’t pick up too many burrs and bugs! Gloves are a MUST… as are sunscreen, sunglasses, and a water bottle. There are “lovely” moments, but owning and running a winery is challenging. This is agriculture. It involves manual labor, science (!), heavy machinery, unfamiliar tools, LOTS of sampling and testing, and constant attention.

So… what were we thinking?!

Like other inexperienced city rubes, we had a naïve idea of what it meant to live out in the countryside and work the land. People have been doing this for thousands of years, we thought; how hard could it be? We’re finding out and we’ll share our adventures with you… when we remember and have time to post. In the meantime, buy some wine and let us know what you think!