Kyle and I share an office. I can vividly recall him doing hours of research online—the kind he was genuinely excited about. Cabernet Sauvignon and a planting project became quite a passion for him in early 2018. While I am sure I glazed over on more than one occasion during discussions of clonal variations, he kept at it. Most of us probably didn’t even know clonal variations of most winegrape varieties exist. Until we were making wine, I had no idea myself. But each has its own slightly different character. Maybe it prefers a certain climate, or has a different cluster size, or a unique flavor profile.
And, true to his character, he wasn’t chasing the obvious choices. He wanted vines that would thrive here, creating the best quality possible. So the research continued for months—articles, tastings of other cabernets and a pile of notes—until he landed on three unique and rarely planted clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, known for their character and their notoriously low yields.
I’ll admit I may be boring you with this discussion of clones. But I think about that research project of his often, especially as we prepare to release this vineyard’s first wine. Months of digging, tasting, deciding, all before a vine went in the ground. And then, with that decision made, the wait of years before those clones told us if he’d been right.
That’s the part I keep coming back to, and a thread that has run through our family. Farming the same ground since 1900 has never meant knowing the outcome. My great-grandparents had no idea if vineyards would thrive here when they first planted them. My dad didn’t know if a season’s decisions would be right til harvest came. Kyle didn’t know if these three clones would be worth the wait.
You may have your own version of this—a choice made without knowing the outcome or something you are still waiting on. Sometimes, once you’ve put the work in to make the decision, all we can do is let it go and trust the process.
With September being California Wine Month, I hope that when you pour a glass of wine, you will take just a moment and consider all the decisions, patience, and trust that it took to get there.
