Say What?

Winemakers, what do you love about your job?

There are so many layers to the job. We need to have knowledge of several scientific areas while saving room for creative choices along the way. On top of that, the challenges and solutions of one vintage don’t necessarily prepare you for the next. It’s a constant learning process, where your education and experience must be balanced with new insights and creativity.

Dave Paige, Adelsheim Vineyard

Having people come in and say, ‘Oh, I don’t like that (varietal or type of) wine,’ and won’t try it unless someone else says, ‘This is actually pretty good.’ They taste ours and go, ‘Oh, I kind of like that one!’ Generally, it is the reaction that customers have when they really enjoy a wine we have made; that, to me, is success. In production, it is having a great morning picking and in the afternoon enjoying processing the fruit with nothing breaking down. When we press, sitting around and enjoying the sunny day as the press does all the work. Sometimes, opening a wine we haven’t had for a long time and exclaiming how nicely it has developed. It makes all the work we do so worthwhile!”

Trudy Kramer, Kramer Vineyards

The banker’s hours.

Todd Hamina, Biggio-Hammina Cellars

The illusion of romance and the verity of hard work combined with the creation of a fine wine product that can be joyfully shared with others makes the effort fulfilling.”

Danuta Pfeiffer, Pfeiffer Vineyards

No two days are the same. I am always ruled by nature, and I can only respond and make the best decisions I can for that vintage and wine. You really can’t do anything by recipe; you need to really think about it. It is infinitely interesting. My own brand has been growing gradually and organically, and now I have opportunities  to work with other growers I respect, which is fantastic and gives me an opportunity to work with some other very high quality vineyards and different varietals in addition to my own estate wines.”

Daniel Warnshuis, Utopia Vineyards

Everything!

Marcus Goodfellow, Goodfellow Family Cellars

As a second generation vintner and winemaker in training, I have the incredible fortune to be able to steward a true expression of our vineyard from ‘dirt to glass’ and then share the results. I know of no other varietal than Pinot Noir — called the “heartbreak grape” for good reason due to its delicate nature — that has such a breadth of expression, even within one vineyard, so that each vintage is a unique snapshot in and of itself of time and place, and each bottle possesses the ability to recall that particular growing season with its accompanying winemaking challenges. It is the ultimate opportunity to capture passion for our land and this varietal, which can be shared and enjoyed by many people over decades of time.”

Rebecca E. Moore, Monks Gate Vineyard