TOUGH LOVE

This wine was sold out before it was even picked. our Mourvedre. The tough grape that docent give the love easily, has to be earned. 
Always the last grape to be picked, its almost like it wants everything else to be taken care of before it takes its turn. Rich and brooding. 

Dad.

Dear Dad,

Where have you been?

Last time I saw you, the last thing I said to you,  or at least your husk, was - “you are not my dad.” I didn’t even recognize you. You left that room long before... so, where have you been?

In your absence, the world continued spinning, things happened and the dodgers won the World Series.  A lot of people said a lot of really nice things to me about you, and there was a parade in los OLIVOS that lasted 45 minutes in your honor... they lowered the flag in the middle of town for the longest duration acceptable by the committee- a full week. Same as Regan and Dr. Herthel. I got to keep the flag. Rancheros hung their tags so tightly around the ring it sagged... it was a real shit show. You would have loved it.... 

Then, it got quiet, and I got sad. Everyone did. 

Still are.

Everyone got real close. I’m closer to kirk than when I was 12. He even worked a day in harvest, and I haven’t missed one of his games yet this year, even been to a couple.. shit, I’ve been to texas 5 times in the last year. And a bunch of other places, the whole family... we’ve been together, all of us, every single month for a year. Imagine that. Everywhere we go, this Saarloos mob, laughing, yelling, pounding the table telling stories, eating, drinking, it’s been all time. 

Where have you been?

Mom.... mom, is fit as a fiddle, she’s been skiing with us, to the lake, single skiing behind the boat, she is 20 years fitter than a year ago, she says she walks when she misses you.. she walks a lot. Back to her High school weight, she says. Kirk and I coddle her tho she doesn’t need it, we call her 2x a day and we all text constantly... she goes back and forth to texas and here and generally makes everyone’s life easier everywhere she goes. 

She walks a lot. 

Where have you been?

The harvest was good, we were down a man, but all the boys pulled together and we sailed right through and did it leave one grape in 200 acres. Grew the cattle operation quite a bit in your absence and also got the Woodie running and fixed better than new. Same with the Chevy. I worked on them when I missed you. They got fixed quickly. I drive your truck. I still think it’s ugly, but everyone waves. Pedro and Alfonzo miss you pretty bad, you were like their dad too, but we all tell stories about you, and the work gets done pretty quick. 

4 end posts to date. I have taken over your fieldwork, and other farming duties. I also planted the field and expect a full crop for the livestock. Billie came by to move some livestock I sold and told me “this place looks better than ever, new fences, good roads, organized and mowed to a T, usually a place goes to hell after the boss goes, but not this place....” Thought that summed it up pretty well..

Where have you been?

You missed one of the best years of my life.

All the way around, best year of my life, family, work, kids, harvest, travel, new jobs and responsibilities, new truck, I had to fill my hero’s boots and I was going to make damn sure I busted the seams.... where have you been?

I did all of this and the thing that makes me sad... is that you weren’t there.

My father, my business partner, my children’s grandfather, my moms husband, my brothers father, my best friend, the guy who calls me 5 times a day, the guy who talks to me in the middle of the road from his truck, the town mayor, the valleys dad, the guy who calls everyone just to rag them or be the first phone call after some loses their job.... 

it’s just like my planet lost a moon. 

The gravity is different now. 

I know where you’ve been.

We will keep spinning. 

I see you everywhere. 

I’m just sad you aren’t here to listen to. 

I keep talking to you. 

I just miss the listening. 

It’s been pretty hard not to be selfish. 

See you in a couple decades. 

Eternity is a pretty long time. 

We will have a catch. 

There is no one like Dad. Dad is his own man. 

You might not believe this, but your dad used to be cool. He had hopes and dreams and all kinds of crazy things. But then, he had to become an upstanding member of society. He benched most of who he was.... For you. Because he loves you, more than he loves him. Thanks pop.

No one is harder on yourself than you. That is my Dad, he and I are pretty much the same person. We both see each other's faults because they are our own. We are relentlessly tough on each other. We will hit each other with hammers in the morning and be able to have lunch together by noon. But I see the man he has become, and I remember the man he was, and I see the man I am, and it gives me hope for the man I want to be. Case in point: That photo is the man he has become. The Farmer, the grandfather, the Bull. The type of man that cares about each cluster in our vineyard. Tough as nails on the outside but soft enough to care about every vine like a mother would. Because he knows that his son is going to take them from him. And it will have a photo of someone he loves on the bottle. And that bottle will provide for his grand children. He hasn't let me down once in my entire life. And there is no way on this world he has no plans to start now. Our Wine is a byproduct of this passion. It starts in the field. And I have no plans on ever letting that man down.

Some people want to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated - fastcompany - Fortune. Not @lsaarloos - when you get your copy, and I’m sure you all have a subscription to American Vineyard you will see my dad, the man, the myth the legend smiling back at you. Along with a great article about our family farming. I’m actually writing this from the vineyard this Baltic morning 36° picking our Mourvedre that we call Dad in his honor. He is here hand on the wheel. Amazing spotlight on my dad doing what he loves, where he loves it, with those he loves. “Best day of my life” are always his first words he says to me each day. Congrats Pop.

Every man faces challenges in his life. I've sat around a dinner table when I was a kid and he told me and my brother. Sons today was a bad day, we lost half our business. He never hid failures from us. He always let us watch him get off the mat and fight back. He held us close and let us watch. He instilled in us another gear, a very low tractor gear. A gear we can call upon when we are axel deep in the mud. My brother and I are who we are because of him. It was never a soft love, he goal wasn't to love it was to prepare. The love would come later, from the stands, arms crossed hiding tears when we took the lessons and went out to win. He has broad shoulders and a broader heart. The true measure of a father is not he does for his children, but what he prepared them to do for themselves. I've never fought and wrestled with another person more than him. You kill what you eat and eat what you kill. My brother and I will spend the rest of our lives making that man proud. Honor + Prepare. That's the Bull. That is my Dad

This bottle of wine is labeled Proprietary.  A proprietary wine is a bottle of wine that is crafted by us just for us. 
There is no other wine in the world just like this wine. Not only is it a One in a Million, it the only one that ever has been. It would be impossible for us to create this exact wine ever again. It is a dark, brooding red that has a touch of sweetness. Mourvedré is a Major component in its creation. However, we added just a bit of beauty that brightened it up just a touch. 
Just like Dad, it may be a bit intimidating, but if you look just a bit deeper, you will find a teddy bear with a heart of gold. Nothing is just like your DAD. Your DAD is yours. 
I love my DAD; he has always been there for me. He has never let me down, not one time. Sometimes it isn't as fast as I would like, or even how I would like him to, but he is always there. Maybe your experience is different, maybe you are, or may be married to someone that is trying to be the best DAD they can. This wine is for them, and for you. 
Once you cozy up to it, you will be in Love. 
DAD is one of the Greatest wines we have ever made. Full Stop. 
Thanks, Dad, for every little thing. 
Thanks for being mine. 
Thanks for being the example for me on how to be a good one to my kids.

We are all doing out best trying to be better than our own.