Right in the middle of harvest season, we like to take a little break, and invite all our friends over to celebrate harvest. We make some harvest season treats, and I put some grapes in the backyard for everyone to stomp, and we open 30 or 40 bottles of wine.
This year we had a full house at 40 people. Just about the maximum we figure we can fit. This morning Stefania got a thank you note from one of her friends and co-workers:
“I just wanted to say thank you for the invite…we had a preconceived notion that since we were not ‘Wine People’ we would feel uncomfortable and to put it harshly shunned by the other so called ‘Wine People’…. What we found out the moment we walked through the door was SO the opposite of what our stupid inclinations were (I don’t even know what ‘Wine People’ are anymore). You and Paul are the most gracious hosts and everyone made us feel so welcomed. I can’t even remember the last time I went to a party where I knew virtually no one and felt so comfortable, where people you do not even know come up to you and say ‘Hi I am such and such’ and just start talking to you as if you mattered, not caring that we knew nothing about wine and very willing to share their knowledge or experience. “
That was the best note. One goal we have is to make wine easy and enjoyable for people. We want to put aside all the anxiety and let people just enjoy a bottle with new friends or connect with old friends. “Good wine, good food, good parties and great friends!” as Stefania says. Friends are the key that makes the party, the food, or the wine truly great.
We’re headed out tomorrow to drop off bins and get back to winemaking!