“What if “work” wasn’t just about tasks, but about time – long, uninterrupted, soul-filling time with the people you love? On the farm, conversations unfold between rows of grapes, around barrels, and over 12-hour days that leave us better than we began.” by Chad
It hit me on a recent visit from friends. Our farm and winery have provided incredible opportunities for us to spend time with people and talk. Not just – go to coffee and visit for 1.25 hours. I’m talking hours. Sometimes 12+ hours. So many folks who come to the farm for the first time say – “gosh, you must be busy.” In other words, we’ve got plenty of work to do most the year. The opportunity I’m referring to, that carves out 12+ hours together is work. It could be harvesting grapes or it could be planting or even injecting fertilizer for the pumpkins. Either way – a lot of “work” on the farm is physical – and therefore, creates room to talk to one another. What a treat it is to spend time with longtime friends, family and new friends we’ve made through our “connector” – Lagriōth wine.
We’ve had friends visit from Italy, New Zealand, North Carolina, California, Tennessee, DC, Virginia, Georgia, the PNW and from…just down the road. Some of these visitors ask – “when’s a good time to come so we can help you guys and work around the farm?” These folks literally show up with work clothes and work boots they’ve packed in their suitcase. How supported and special do we feel with the offer to help. And how excited do we get, to spend time with these folks and in some cases reconnect after years apart. Sometimes the work can be so demanding and long (like harvest) we think some folks may want to “break up with us” – but they keep coming back.
Imagine when you’ve got 12 hours with someone. It could be someone you love like family, it could be someone you’ve looked up to as a mentor, it could be family. What do you talk about for 12 hours? You see my point – coffee together is amazing – but 12 hours of opportunity to talk (obviously some of it is consumed with “hey, the bin’s full” or “what’s next?”) What do you end up talking about? What if you run out of things to talk about? What if it is one of our kids in the mix for the 12 hours? How do you keep it a “dialogue” so not just one person is talking? All things to consider, but in reality, the friendship, the family camaraderie has already been established. In other words – these visitors are folks we love to be around. And I have to say – I personally have learned a lot about these folks because of all this time together. I’m so grateful for what I’ve learned from and about those folks. Let me share a couple examples. Friends we love and family. These are recent ones so they’re fresh.
The last couple years some friends have visited from North Carolina – Vern and Deana. We spend a few days together – meals, wine, gathering with friends and work. This year our activities ranged from making kettle corn to racking the 2025 Estate Chardonnay into barrel. We had the chance to enjoy some of our farm raised lamb and a special dinner with local friends in their orchard. And the “work” delivered on conversation. Filling neutral Chardonnay barrels – there’s a decent amount of talking time. Picture a big stainless tank full of “new” finished mouthwatering Estate Chardonnay. It needs to be moved from tank to neutral barrel for aging. We do this with a pump and hoses and a barrel wand with a sight glass built in. The wand is like a metal pipe hooked onto the end of a hose – in climbing we might call it the “sharp end” (the climber’s end) or in wine making the end the wine is going to come out. For the most part this is a one-person job. And our friend was in charge of “the sharp end” while the rest of us did a few other things. The goal is not to spill wine while filling (a tragic loss). Our friend got a quick handle on pump management and flashlight management to assess barrel fullness, which in turn opened the conversation.
I loved the chance to ask leadership questions during this work session. The piece that stuck with me is “directional” vs. “consensus” leadership. Or, another lesson, making sure the path forward is clear and knowing some people may not want to stay on the bus. Needless to say – we successfully moved all the Chardonnay and were proud of what we accomplished that day – even celebrating with a 2022 Estate Chardonnay at dinner. There were many more conversations during our time together while “working.” It’s always neat to see how Jeana and Deana’s conversations a geared toward family while Vern and I love discussing how soil works, how to move the peg in the industry and create more nutrient dense food.
The other recent story is with my brother-in-law Matt. Jeana’s family came to visit this fall and help with harvest. Since we’ve moved around the country for a number of years and now live 6+ hours away – extended time together is kept to holidays and occasional visits. So when Matt and I spent about 12 hours on the crush pad together pressing our Estate Pinot Noir we got to talk a lot. Pressing red wine leaves lots of windows for good conversation. Picture our metal bins about 4 foot square, full of destemmed grapes. Basically, a bin full of berries. After 10+ days of fermentation they start to look like raisins almost. The yeast having eaten all the sugar. Matt and I’s job (along with our harvest help Jon) was to move all the finished wine into barrels – called free run. Then dump what remains into the press. This makes the bins lighter for lifting and tipping. Matt and I got to cover the gamut of topics. From work to family to the future. We talked investing and small business. This is time with someone that’s irreplaceable. And, we had the satisfaction of bringing one of our favorite wines to barrel.
These conversations and time with friends and family are treasured. Yeah, we could all just go on vacation together. But there’s something totally different about the conversations that happens when doing “work” together. There’s a bond that occurs. Think about it – these visitors showed up with a generous heart. Many of them drove long distances or from across the country or ½ way around the world. Then, we jump into projects at the farm or winery. In a world very removed from work where we can “see” our accomplishments (like digging a ditch). Filling wine barrels – married up with fantastic conversation is a place to connect.
To all our friends and family who’ve showed up to help or showed up to spend time with us – thank you, we treasure time with you. And let me also be clear about all our local family. You know who you are. Thank you for the meals. Thank you for the relentless appetite to help. You’ve all made our life here better. We’ve all made special memories together.
I’ll end with this.
We hope all of you – dear friends from afar – family – local friends – realize we’re creating something together. A farm and winery dedicated to connection. Our souls long for connection. Thank you. Thank you for the visits. Thank you for being role models and leaders for our kids. Thank you.
We’ll see you at the farm.
