​I planted a seed and something unexpected happened

Photo by Joann Schissel

When I was growing up in Des Moines, if a fortune teller told me that in the second decade of the 20th century I would live on a vineyard and sell wine, I would have laughed and thought that prediction was so outrageous it could never be true.
 
That’s exactly what I do in 2021 and love it.
 
I had no interest in wine, or really, alcohol in general. Booze turned my completion red. I always lived in a metropolitan environment and grew comfortable with the buzz of the city. I was in my early teens before I ever visited a farm.
 
However, what I naturally gravitated to included outdoor activities like hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding in Des Moines’ Waterworks Park. I loved being outside. When I painted with watercolors, I chose images of old barns, fields and pastoral landscapes. When I became a graphic designer I worked six years at a non-profit conservation organization that provided information to agronomists and environmental scientists and much of my other employment was related to agriculture. In 2015 when I met Mike, he sparked an ongoing interest in the many facets of wine, winemaking and the joys of food and wine pairing.
 
The seed of events had been sown. I didn’t have a fortune-teller, but luck and love brought me to where I am today. You never know what your seeds may bring.

[Photo: In about 4-5 years, with luck and love, you’ll be enjoying the wine produced by this St. Vincent grapevine, planted in our vineyard, May 2021.]

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