Wednesday, September 19, 2012

It's A Beautiful Day In the Vineyard

Day. Night. It all starts to blend together for Jim Stollberg, our vineyard manager, this time of year. He's up for hand picks at 2 AM most mornings, and often not sleeping for days at a time. When he walks into the Riverbench house and slams the door in his signature way, we're often surprised to see that, all in all, he's in a pretty darn good mood considering.


Jim was kind enough to let me ride around with him (and his trusty companion, Charlie, who supervises all from the back of the truck) one morning last week, which was a little like watching a pro in action. I know the ins and outs of Riverbench the business in my sleep, but Jim can go right to a specific vineyard block, varietal, road, or gate without thinking twice (or getting a full night's rest). It's clear his vineyard crews respect him; they smile genuinely when he drives up, converse quickly in Spanish, and then he moves on to the next location. While we drove around together, Jim was simultaneously overseeing picks for Andrew Murray, Hitching Post, and several locations for our Riverbench wine program all at once.

It's this multitasking, attention to detail, and, plain and simple, the love of the vine that makes Jim so great at what he does. And I know that he's like me in that our work has become our lives, and it just isn't fair to call it "a job."

You know how when your mom makes you a sandwich it just tastes better because she made it with love? Well. Think about it.

It takes some pretty serious dedication to go without sleep for so long just for the sake of those grapes, but that's what he loves and that's what he does. And I guarantee that our wines are all the better for it.


(Check out that magical Santa Maria Valley fog we all know and love. I could barely see 5 feet in front of me driving out that morning.)

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