What a year this has been, from the polar vortex, to rains that didn’t seem to end, a plagues worth of Japanese Beetles devouring the vineyard for months, and little birds with voracious appetites. While in the end we had just enough sunshine and warmth to dry things out, ripen the fruit allowing another vintage tale to be expressed in the wines. Thankfully we missed out on hail, tornadoes and wildfires. That which does not kill us makes us stronger is a good thought to hold onto as we finish out this year. This story however starts a little bit earlier. Let’s take a trip back in time to the early 1800’s when the first deed for our property, a land grant, was issued. Our house was built in 1821 which was the year of Missouri’s statehood. This was 35 years before the founding of New Haven which means those who came before us established their legacy in an area and era that truly required hard work and perseverance.

What the past several years tell us is that immigrants in the beginning had a pretty good knack for picking land. Our property is situated on the first bluff south of the Missouri river which would have been reminiscent of many European landscapes. This land which we now occupy has wonderfully deep soil with enough clay to maintain a water table even during the driest times. Being on the hill top we enjoy great airflow, drainage and sunshine, providing our grapes with perfect conditions to develop hardy root systems and produce character rich fruit. What they saw in the land way back when is what has given our vineyard the ability to survive in these toughest of conditions.

We have found many successes over the past 26 years which have been the result of our hard work and perseverance. Of course we have running water, electricity, indoor plumbing, refrigeration, the internet and a long list of niceties that makes what could be considered as tough times, pale in comparison to the plight of our predecessors. We are compelled to honor those and their foresight by nurturing our land while bringing to bear wines that embrace the textural qualities this land brings us each harvest.

And with this our inaugural blog for the launch of our new website stirs the philosophical contemplative measurement of accomplishments tempered by the backdrop of those who were here before us. To those we raise up our glass and toast them honoring their commitment dedication and vision of what can and will be as we carry on in their footsteps.