I'm a little OCD though.
I can't just do something, I really over-do it. I over-research. I worry endlessly. I revise constantly. I start a blog, think of something, the next thing you know it's hours later! Boxes of old pictures and files and post-it-notes everywhere. The Atlas is open, thesaurus.com is on it's own tab, iPhoto is open, I've been sidetracked by Facebook. Hell, I actually read an 85-page report on Social Media by VinTank AND a book called "Groundswell" before I joined Facebook! Who does that????...spiraling out of control....oooppps...there I go again.
Anyways.
I was looking for that picture of the dog - Tucker - and I started thinking "how many wineries have I visited?" I said in the 1st blog "literally hundreds." So, I got out those Moleskins, the Atlas and some actual old-fashioned real manila folders and I counted. It isn't hundreds, but it did top out over one hundred!
2004 = 28 (Napa/Sonoma-26, Willamette Valley-2)
2005 = 19 (Willamette Valley-14, Walla Walla-5)
2006 = 21 (Napa/Sonoma-17, Willamette Valley-3, Texas-1)
2007 = 20 (Napa/Sonoma-10, Willamette Valley-10)
2008 = 17 (Napa/Sonoma-12, Willamette Valley-3, Walla Walla-2)
2009 = 1 (Texas) more to come if the pickup makes it to Healdsburg.
In '04, I started in the town of Napa, drove up The Silverado Trail all the way North to Calistoga and then came back South via Hwy 29. Early on I took a wrong turn up Atlas Peak, said what the hell, and drove up the Mountain till a sign said "End of Road."
I zig-zagged across the Valley floor one sunny day in '06 from Larkmead Lane to the Oakville Cross Road, took the Oakville Grade over the Mountain into Sonoma just because the name sounded interesting, drove up Mt. Veeder to Hess Collection and was rewarded with spectacular views but much too late to really appreciate modern art 10 minutes before closing.
It really is the people, the ones who share their hospitality and the ones who share those moments with me. My family and friends, fellow members of the trade. and the random people I meet along the way.
Was it a time waste to recount all those visits? No. Writing this blog reminds me of all the beautiful things that I love about the wine industry. The land, the people, the process. That whole 'circle of life' thing. Today's blog only reinforces my original desire to become a part of that circle.
