Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has historically been, for me, an occasion to gather with family or friends to enjoy good food (accompanied by an excellent bottle of wine, of course), conversation and a friendly game of cards or Scrabble.  Occasionally something I read or saw would remind of the holiday’s origin and its true meaning but I rarely took the time to appreciate what I had to be thankful for.  But life has a way of giving wake up calls to those of us who take our many blessings for granted.  So this year I humbly give thanks for the life I have been handed and especially for:

My incredible wife Shriti who has fiercely fought for me, my health and our future together.  Her unmatched fortitude is responsible for my being here today.  She is tough and there is no one I would rather have in my corner.  I owe her my life and so much more….

My son Amrish who has sacrificed many things while my medical issues were being addressed.  He has always been the first in line to cheer me up or offer a seemingly mindless distraction.

The many friends and even acquaintances who have offered their support and prayers over the past several months.  I never imagined our building a winery would result in a gathering of such wonderful people who care so much about our wellbeing.

I am blessed and will be forever thankful.

Fall means Fire Pit Fridays & Football

Frimly in the grip of fall now sliding into early winter, we are enjoying the fire pit, the mulled wine and the football frenzie.  We have also switched to more indoor events (Pinot Noir tasting coming up) but we have one more harvest on the calendar.   This will be new for us - the grapes should have been harvested a month ago but we bird netted them and let them hang.  This will be our first late harvest.  For those joining us for the harvest, be patient with us - we haven't done this before so we are figuring it out.

We also revised our wine club for 2012 and have included pick-up parties now.  Started with a Friday night pickup and quickly got feedback (hello e-mail) that one day isn't enough.  So - we switched it to a pick-up weekend this time around and we'll see how it goes.

We have been barrel tasting the Chamborcin and Norton - the Chambourcin will be bottled in the next month and Norton soon after that.  Considering throwing out a Norton barrel tasting night - thoughts??

Glad it's fall and we are able to enjoy all the fall things we love!