The Soul of Hosting: Wine, People, and Belonging

“This weekend, as we welcome The Tophouse Band to the farm, I’ve been reflecting on our true “why.” At its heart, our work with wine and farming is about connection – creating a place where people feel hosted, relaxed, and deeply at home.” by Chad

The Soul of Hosting: Wine, People, and Belonging

This weekend we’re hosting one of our favorite and biggest events of the year: The Tophouse Band. Some might be asking… how is it possible to pull this off in the middle of harvest, in the middle of the pumpkin patch?? At the risk of repeating myself – “If your why don’t make you cry, it ain’t no why.” In other words, what is our motivation for doing all this? It’s connection.

Our mission is about connection. Wine is one of the things we provide to support connection. We’ve all connected with one another at meals over wine for thousands of years. Connection is absolutely what we want to provide each of you. In today’s world, there is a lot going on and so many distractions (truth be told, there’s always been lots going on – think of the WWI & WWII generations). Regardless of what’s “driving” our society’s hunger for connection, it’s our mission.

A place you can come and build memories.

A place you can come and feel hosted.

A place you can come and relax.

A place you can come and experience a peaceful setting.

A place you can come and connect to nature.

A place you can come and experience agriculture.

A place our kids can experience first-hand what it is to create something – to build something and witness serving others.

Maybe you’ve experienced it at our place, or other places in our great valley. Connecting with one another feeds our soul, we hunger for it, and our survival throughout history depends on it. For the remainder of the blog, I’m going to share a few thoughts on elements we find important to providing you the opportunity for connection.

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The People…

How do you scale “yourself”? If everyone wants to meet and spend time with the owners in a business like ours, well then, how do we make sure that happens when we’re not around? I thought this was an appropriate thing to articulate because it’s so important. One of our board of advisors said the most important thing in building their hospitality business has been hiring the right people from the start.

We’ve been using Carey Davidson’s 5 Archetypes quiz to see where our team lands (I won’t digress, but check it out). The reason is – as Danny Meyer says in his book Setting the Table – there’s a difference between “Service” and “Hospitality.” Service is making sure the table is set and the dishes are done and food comes on time. Hospitality, or finding folks who are “Hospitalitarians,” is about making sure your guests are cared for and understood.

I want to be clear: our business is small. We don’t have anyone who’s full-time, 40 hours per week, year-round. But it’s clear to us, as we build, that having a team who’s able to see your needs and spend the appropriate time with you – talking about the appropriate things – is very important. Think going to fast food vs. a wonderful sit-down restaurant. We all remember when we’re treated well. We all remember when a meal – or even an experience at the hardware store (think Kelly’s in Chelan) – leaves us feeling supported. Leaves us feeling connected.

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The Wine…

…or should we say the setting. But first: why is it we’re so darn fascinated with this liquid? Science shows us wine has over 1,000 flavor compounds – that complexity alone means endless smells and tastes. Maybe this is why wine often gets described as complex.

At Lagriōth Winery our goal is to make wine relaxed and approachable (see our tasting philosophy). Wine has a story to tell, and we’re happy to tell it, but we sure don’t want to tell you what you’re tasting or smelling. We want to keep things flexible and fun.

If you prefer reds only, we want to do our best to accommodate. If you prefer sweet wine – well, we invented the Judy Special just for you. If you want to have fun, we can go on a Chardonnay adventure (of course, if the Estate Chard isn’t sold out).

Then there’s our style of wine. A good friend said knowing what kind of wine you’re aiming to create is really important. For example, we’re trying to make a Chablis-style Chardonnay (sorry for adding some complexity), or a Provence-style Rosé, or a Cabernet with some age-worthiness driven by fresh acidity (think Atlas Peak in Napa). Overall, we want to make refreshing, delightful wines you can’t wait to put with food. Why? Because wine with a meal is where connection happens. Wine with a meal is where memories are made.

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The Venue…

Well, we just got lucky on this one. If you’ve visited, then maybe you’ve had a chance to take in the view or experience the peacefulness of being away from the busy roads and sitting next to the flowers, orchard, or vineyard.

But when we first looked at this property, we turned right around. All we saw were weeds. Then our now friend and realtor said we were looking the wrong way… so we decided to listen and trust his advice. We’re so glad we did.

When you arrive and look out from our tasting room patio – you’ll see we’ve created the view close up, but God created the view into the mountains. It just feels like we’re in the mountains, which speaks to this amazing location near Lake Chelan.

Our tasting room is very humble. Built to enjoy and experience the outdoors. But it’s small. And in the winter, we all get cozy. Yes, we’d love to make more indoor winter space – and we’ll get there. But our goal has always been letting you feel like you’re on the farm. Like you’re in nature.

We certainly hope you’ve had the chance to experience it for yourself. And we’re so thankful so many of you tell your friends—or tell everyone—to come check us out. We’re a small business hungry to grow, and YOU are what makes that possible. Thank you!

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A Special Memory…

I thought it would be appropriate to close with a special memory, since this blog is all about connection.

A top-of-mind memory: when four generations enjoyed themselves on our tasting room patio. It was a couple summers ago. Part of the family had visited us before. They couldn’t wait to bring a bigger part of their family back to, of course, “connect” with one another.

We put tables together for them, got them set up with food and wine, and they must have stayed over three hours (yeah, we love when you decide to stay). Can you start to picture it? This was great-grandma, kids, their kids, and their kids. The youngest kids occupied by bubbles or picking berries, while the older generations were able to laugh and talk and relax while sipping wine… maybe our Life-Changing Pinot Noir (lol). In my memory, it almost stands out in that “golden hour” light. These folks soaking up the time together, laughing and relaxing.

We feel lucky for the opportunity to host time like this for people. Or when it’s a friend’s birthday, or if a loved one is terminally ill and we can do something to make that time special. We love hosting all of you.

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And maybe this is a good place to end. Having a farm and winery isn’t about the farm and the wine. It’s about seeing every one of you enjoy yourself – connecting with one another, connecting with nature, connecting through wine. And then telling us stories of how you took our wine or farm goods home and again fostered connection.

Humans are the dominant species on the planet because we default to trust. For me, that means we default to a deep need for connection. We thrive on connection at Chelan Valley Farms and Lagriōth Winery.

Cheers,