Uncertain Times, Great Wines…

An Existential POV!

How I long for the good old days when we only had to worry about a war in a foreign land, a polarized populous, a corrupt presidency, interest rate hikes, a looming gas crisis and warnings of environmental collapse. Neil Young had a few choice lyrics for the times when he sang “Look at mother nature on the run in the nineteen seventies.” Not much has changed since then, yet everything has changed.

I was in my early twenties when we started planting our vineyards in 1982. We were still recovering from the turbulent ’70’s and my father just wanted to grow good Pinot Noir, Merlot and Chardonnay and I was still trying to decide if the hippie dream of self-sufficiency and getting back to nature was even a possibility. I’m still trying to figure that one out.

Throughout history, humanity has always dealt with a crisis of one sort or another. Yet, no matter what occurs. there are those who proceed with optimism, creating something good when others only see bad. We have come to the realization that we can’t control what is beyond our control. However, we can create something positive and hopefully encourage others that they too can make a difference. The tired hippie slogan of “Think globally, act locally!” still rings true today. Everything we do when we create our wines is to “do no harm” and “heal an ailing earth.” I know I repeat those two refrains often, but I am told it sometimes takes repeating yourself for twenty years to get the message across. We try to look at everything we do, from the earth up, to assure we make responsibly, well-crafted wines so we can indulge in guilt-free hedonism and offer a temporary pleasure respite during uncertain times.

Rob Sinskey