Mise en bouteille au Château

Bringing you all up to speed, last fall before my daughter Kristin was deployed to Iraq, the two of us decided on something that would take about a year to develop and we could enjoy on her return. We decided to make wine.

The idea came to me after thinking about my grandfather who — with his buddies during WWI — bought a rather expensive bottle of wine that would be consumed and toasted by the ‘last man’ left standing. Well, as it happened my grandfather enjoyed the wine late in his life and reflecting on how much the world had changed since they all made this little wager. As a homage to Pops, I thought it might be fun to make some wine!

So, armed with nothing but raw materials and books, Kristin and I set forth on this fun journey. Obviously, there was much to do after she left… but it has been a fun seeing what the real ‘pirates’ of wine making are up to!  30 plus years ago, I was first involved in wines through a national organization called “Knights of the Vine”… a fun group whose sole purpose was to educate, promote and enjoy wines in America. However, in talking more to winemakers and after a lot of reading… my eyes were re-opened to the wonders of this experience.

After wrestling with a bunch of ideas, I labeled our ‘product’ today and I believe it may just earn my coveted 12 stars designation ( one for each month of aging!) when it’s finished ‘aging.’ I used the colors of Kristin’s Alma mater “West Point” capped with an engineering symbol.

Thinking of you Kristin.

Dad