And Then Some

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Some Days In the Life

July 28, 2010 in And Then Some | 4 comments

Just dropped Sam off at his new little play-group daycare thingymajig down the street, and back home doing some work. Thought I’d share what I’ve been working on these past few days:

– Editing Scott’s video debut – that stylist I need for myself could also be used on Scott, at least his choice of t-shirt (a gag-gift from a friend, not a statement he’s trying to make). I did my best to edit what I could out, hence the jiggle effect. Sorry if you get sea-sick while watching. Scan the horizon.

– Website nitty-gritty. We’re trying to get an expanded website up, other than our DIY splash page you currently see at The Grande Dalles address. I’m 2.5 months behind doing it – trying to coordinate with the designer I traded work for, and the programmer, and how it can be done on the budget we have, and how the design drives budget and my head hurts. Then all the “where should one go after clicking here?” “How to return?” “Is the message clear?” “How much will this add to programming costs?” And then all the gentle stylistic proddings, to a well-seasoned, know-her-crap designer. See, that’s the (one of the) trouble(s) with people with vision (meaning me and scott) — we know what we want because the vision is so deep within us. But since we don’t have the know-how to create it (like this website – as much as I’d LOVE to learn programming and more about design), we have to rely on people doing their best to translate their idea of what THEY think WE want. Painful sometimes.

– Restaurant/chef picks. When we were in New York last month, The James Beard House was so excited about our wines and story, they want us to present them at a dinner sometime in the future, something we are deeply honored by, even just the idea! So now it’s trying to find a chef who might want to present a meal with our wines. We have a shortlist, so  in the last few days I’ve done some research to uncover the chef’s stories — I LOVE that stuff — sleuthing, and stories — to see how we might be a good fit. Of course, who knows if any of them would be interested, but The James Beard House?! AND The Grande Dalles wine?! C’mon!

– Setting up our e-comm page to link with website. Lots of DIY (that’s Do It Yourself, for you Euro readers) in this endeavor.

– Going through an emotional roller coaster — I know, that’s old news for you seasoned readers — but here’s the skinny: LAST week we were turned down a SECOND time for a loan to move into a bigger home. This the second house we had found. I was so angry and sad, all our sacrifice for this endeavor and living in this tiny house and blah blah blah. THIS week Scott found us a local bank who said, “Yes.”! We will get that larger house. Fingers crossed.

Ok – enough of the blah blah — I’ll post this and get Scott’s video up, too —

Over and out –

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Walk of Faith

July 21, 2010 in And Then Some | No comments

That’s what a very dear friend of mine said to me, that I must see all this as a “walk of faith” after an outburst of expletives I had for the ridiculous mortgage lenders who, just today—after telling us WEEKS ago “no problem, no problem” about getting a loan for a larger home, even after we explained our farm losses on the tax returns that caused the denial of the first loan—told us today that we were denied. After all their stringing along and “Yes you can” bullscheisse and all the work we (Scott) did and time and money of the inspection and sewer scope and back and forth with the seller, not to mention the dreams, the DREAMS! of FINALLY a larger place, and the sanity, the SANITY involved (mine, really), only to be, once again, denied a loan for a larger home. “Walk of faith my ass,” or something like that, I told her.

I was in tears, thinking of what Kay had said on the God Father II: Read the rest of this entry »

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Slowly Catching Up

July 18, 2010 in And Then Some, Eye Roll, Please | No comments

The first thing that popped into my head after reading the other day about the apparent Washington state trend taking place to establish estate vineyards was a remark by the father in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when he learns his children have skipped school, “Good. It’ll give the other children a chance to catch up.” (side note, who knew Chitty was written by Ian Fleming? I didn’t. So Truly Scrumptious now makes sense…).

Scott and I have been speaking “estate” since our giantly robust business plan was born; with all the research I did and Scott’s full grip on what makes great wine well established, we knew from day one that it’s estate all the way, baby. In fact, here’s a glimpse of what I had written, all the way back in early 2006:

One Vineyard, One Producer, One Wine: the Key to Fine Wines

It is widely accepted that wines are made in the vineyard, and history has shown that the finest and most memorable wine comes from vineyards that are estate-owned and grown. This philosophy is a luxury few wineries can afford: the time and cost to establish and oversee a vineyard means fewer and fewer estate wineries are being created. Yet on the flipside, it is a luxury some wineries cannot afford NOT to have, in order to remain competitive and distinct. Recently there has been a small movement growing, of established, premium wineries returning to estate wines. Leonetti, Quilceda Creek, and Cadence Winery are now developing or plan on developing their own estate vineyards (Bonne, 2006). “We’re going towards being entirely estate grown, and that pushes me philosophically towards showing off our vineyards,” says Chris Figgins (Wine Enthusiast, 2006), head winemaker of the prestigious Leonetti Cellars. In effect, Figgins is pointing to the fact that estate is THE only way to ensure quality and uniqueness in the marketplace, and the only way a winery can guarantee it. The Grande Dalles, founded 100% on the estate philosophy, will from the start come to the market with this distinction and consumer appeal, for the very first wines we make, and the ONLY wines we make, will be estate.

Maybe instead of catching UP, better to say catching ON. Which is absolutely surPRIsing, that, the big players in particular, did not recognize the importance of estate from day one.

For us, Scott and I no longer talk about estate. Because what we have realized, in the past four years since we wrote our plan and planted our vineyard is that there’s so much more.

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Living La Vida Cultivata? I Think Not.

June 25, 2010 in And Then Some | No comments

That’s what a dear friend of mine suggested, after I gave her a peek into our journey to NYC for a media tour with journalists and editors. We found ourselves at Saveur’s First Annual Summer BBQ, living the good life, if even for those few hours. She thought I might have just passed from life, uncultivated, to something more upscale. But no. I was still the same old sweaty me, with shiny nose and limp hair in that NYC heat, hoping the sway of Pier 66 wouldn’t make me lose any of that just eaten strip steak slider with truffled robiola or any of those mojitos I was more than happy to imbibe under the circumstances. And my feet hurt, wearing my mother’s vintage golden goat-skin shoes through all those dirty streets and up the skinny stairs at the James Beard House and in and out of cabs and elevators and ugh. Cultivated life, indeed. I just hope my lipstick was on straight while I was there.

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Cork

June 6, 2010 in And Then Some, Eye Roll, Please | 2 comments

An article from the UK’s Telegraph about France’s Cork Federation and their recent campaign to boost cork appreciation got me thinking. For one, about how little I still know about corks, and for two, about how much I do know. For again and again I have been hearing about the two camps, to cork or not to cork, because of the fear of what’s being labeled cork taint. Supposedly cork taint can affect up to 15% of all wine bottles, no laughing matter. But how much is really cork taint from corks, and how much is it from other sources that rarely get referenced?

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Napa Valley, Missouri

May 25, 2010 in And Then Some, Eye Roll, Please, Wine World Homogeneity | No comments

So get this. Driving around in the Midwest last week, in a bedroom-like community of Kansas City (a be-YU-tiful city – need to spend more time there), saw a housing development going up named “Napa Valley.” I was SHOCKED. And then amused. And then SHOCKED again. Why? No, it’s not because it was a small tract of land that was flatter than flat with just a hint of the many more identical McMansions that would be slapped up there blaring out at us from the distance. And for sure it’s not because of its Midwest locale. Nor because it was lacking any atmosphere of ANY kind. (Disclaimer required: I’ve never been to Napa Valley, I’ve just seen pictures, but this development wuhddn’t [sic] no Napa Valley!) Here’s why I was miffed: Read the rest of this entry »

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The Volcanos Among Us

May 19, 2010 in A Sense of Place, And Then Some | No comments

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. I was 11 at the time, so no, I don’t remember where I was when it blew. But I have heard accounts since moving here to Oregon in 1991–the hot, tarry ash that ruined umbrellas people here in Portland used for the fallout, as well as any other thing the heated material landed on; the ominous, dark cloud people saw and then wondering, “Is this the end?”–and I remember all the “authentic Mt. St. Helens ash” blown glass holiday ornaments that were still being sold years after the 1980 eruption, I myself buying one in the late ’80s for my then step-mother at a little gift shop on Lark Street in Albany, New York, where I attended University.

I’ve been up and around Mt. St. Helens mountain biking, and the landscape is surreal, even today. Lunar, lunar, lunar. One day I’ll make it to the the top of the old gal, but for now I think about the tremendous energy hovering still in our back yard, not just in Mt. St. Helens, but in Mt. Hood, too.

Mt. Hood stands only 30-some miles as the crow flies to the WSW of our vineyard, and I have to admit, I worry. There are fumaroles pumping sulfuric gases out towards the summit of Mt. Hood, nauseating the hiker on the way to the top; not a lovely experience when you’ve been hiking all night, and then in the early dawn you get that up your nose. So Mt. Hood is another one that can go. It’s not the pyroclastic flows I’m worried about, it’s the ash and fallout — with the right wind, our vineyard, and 1000s of acres around it could become, well, toast. Or at least ruined. Which is still toast to me.

So for now, we’ll just enjoy that view from our hilltop, and hope for no wind that day. Right.

Peep my next video post for a peek at Mt. Hood in relation to our vineyard site, if you want.

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Let the Wild Rumpus Start

May 17, 2010 in And Then Some | No comments

It’s been a busy morning. Busy weekend, really, that seems to continue into the work week. This morning we had a house inspection; put an offer on a much bigger house not too far from where we currently live – we love the neighborhood so, North Portland, the last outpost of the city where you can find affordable housing in a spot that feels at times like a small mountain town. Views of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens are the norm, as well as the running backdrop of Forest Park, the largest urban woodland park in the contiguous US. Would rather that we were putting an offer on a house in The Dalles, or better yet, building our own out there next to the vineyard, or at least down the hill aways – because NOTHING compares to that view, in my opinion (stay tuned for video post to see what I’m talking about).

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Screw It.

May 2, 2010 in And Then Some | 2 comments

Woke up this morning to the Times Square bomb scare. How thankful I am for the people there, of NY, of this country that a terrible tragedy was avoided. I was just thinking of bombs and explosives yesterday. We had just finished The Hurt Locker, and well, if you’ve seen it, or have first-hand experiences with such madness, how can it not leave a mark on you?

Out walking Jack we were in our usual park, one in north Portland I don’t think many people care much about. It’s almost always empty, save for errant underwear or condom wrappers or fried chicken bones. But it is a beautiful park, tall, majestic cedars, soft, full grass, forget-me-nots dotting out in the sun-kissed areas. This park backs up to an armory, kept separate by a chain fence with barbed wire at the top. Samuel likes to go close to it and look at the desert transport vehicles lined up next to olive drab trucks and other machinery uncategorizable to a civilian eye.

So there I was, out running around with Jack, and I came across a golf ball just lying there. I’ve stopped picking up errant objects out of fear, I hate to say, from all the news of middle east bombs disguised as toys from years back. Even though if I were to pick it up, I would most likely not lose my hand or arm or life doing so. But I think about it, and more importantly, I think about others who face real crap like that every day. And how much we take for granted. And then I think about my own whining, “Oh, this small house! Oh, all the naysayers! Oh, all sacrifices for this vineyard and wine!” Oh, woe is me, little, poor Stephanie. Tcha. I gotta shut up and buck up. I’ll try. I really will.

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Slippers

April 21, 2010 in And Then Some | No comments

Today, sitting in my office (car) feels like I’m in Hausschue, or my jeans are on backwards. I know the jeans are just fine, and after looking down at my feet, I’m good there, too. Just feeling out of sorts, I guess. Busy. Tired. Startups are relentless.
Had a great morning meeting with another crazily talented buddy of mine, a fine wood craftsman, among other talents that include ethereal, luminously foiled glass panels and body casting. I’m going to help, as best I can, get some of his website content in line, on top of everything else going on. But what I’m finding out, is that, once you find something you really enjoy doing, you’ll make it happen. And between The Grande Dalles work—Scott’s and my endeavor—and The Little House on The Hill—more my deal-io, like The Uncultivated Life—there is a certain invigoration that keeps me going. The same way little Sam does. And if you’re not going, what else are you doing? Exactly. My old Swiss Oma would always say, “Leben ist Bewegung, und Bewegung ist Leben.” (Life is movement and movement is life.) I rarely ever saw her in slippers.

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