A Season of Bounty

I can't help but take a moment away from the vineyard and winery life to stress the value of family during this time of the year.  We were blessed over Thanksgiving to enjoy the presence of each member of  three generations of our family... all together here on our mountain.  Missing was our 94 year old paternal patriarch whom we lost this year and whose memory is deeply cherished by all of us.  Remaining from that generation is the sole living great-grandparent of our clan, my very proud World War II navy veteran father, who remained deep in the sunny south, as any place north of the Florida state line beyond October is a bit too cold for him.

And so our four and their families, including five wee ones (all under the age of five) gathered for days up on this mountainside.  Looking back at our time together I hear the laughter, the stories, the newborn cries and toddler tales.  I remember the warm sunshine, blaating sheep, childrens' squeals in an echoing barrel room, their foot races across the new winery deck.  I see the horizon at daybreak painted in red.  I smell the baking pies, the turkey and the soft scent of a newborn.  And I remember what I have dreamed of for years... seeing bottles of wine, made from the grapes we raised from this land, set on our Thanksgiving table.

When I began my blog in 2008, before we even planted our vines, I recall musing about the day we would set a bottle of our own wine on our holiday table, an event that seemed so dreamlike and far away.  This Thanksgiving of 2011, that vision became real and we did indeed pour into our glasses  our very own wine.  We raised those glasses and offered thanks for our many blessings, and we put that wine to our lips.  And it tasted oh so wonderfully good.  A dream fulfilled.

Thank you.  Thank you to all and everything that made this dream come true.  And I thank all of you, my readers, for sharing this journey with us.  You have made it all the more special.

And here, I share with you images of my many joys...

And a Happy Holiday season to you all.