A Journey Begins

Back in the early 90s I was working as a graphic designer and illustrator in Des Moines.  One of my favorite subjects to draw and paint was idyllic landscapes, especially rural scenes of barns, silos, and neatly aligned rows of green, growing foliage all dotted along rolling hills and highways. Fast forward to late winter 2016. I’m standing in a vineyard among young vines with buds destined to sprout their bright green flowerets for the first time. I breathe in the beauty of the wide vista -- rolling hills dotted with red barns and midnight blue silos. Clouds that mimic cotton puffs drift casually in the cerulean blue sky. I’m taken aback as I realize the premonition-like nature of the experience that has left me awestruck. This is a moment that would change the direction of my life. The man standing next to me is Mike, the owner of this land whom I’ve recently met and grown to deeply admire. Little did I know then that he and I would join forces in the future to fulfill a dream and bring a vision into reality.
 
Mike and I broke ground the day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 22, 2017, on the new winery and residence. The journey of nearly 2 years of imagination and preparation has begun.