3 YEARS

3 Years. - Everyone wants their life to mean something. That one day when you leave this world some part of you remains. That the best of you continues to thrive and flourish in this world.
That someone would pick up your sword and carry it forward.

The last 3 years have been the hardest of my life. I miss the 5 phone calls a day. I miss the work he did each day. His guidance. His voice. His advice.

I miss being his son.

I cried many times because I missed him.
I cried many more times understanding who I needed to become.

Here, am I. Send Me.

If you have seen the love and care my brother, I and our families have for our mother.
If you have seen the our work we do each day.
If you have seen the perfection we strive for in our vineyard.
If you have seen the beauty of scattered cattle on hills.
The love and care in our wines.
The effort in our communities.
Pulling people out of the mud in our trucks.
Standing and speaking for the growth and care of those in our communities.
The smiling faces of our children.
The love we have for our wives.
The hoisting of as much leg buckling voluntary responsibility upon our backs as we can tolerate.

If you see any good in me, if any words I have ever written or good deeds I have done.
If I have ever helped you and made you promise not to tell anyone.
If I have been your first phone call.
If I promised you something and overdelivered.

…

Let it be a testament to him.

…

I am not a perfect man,
I will fail.
But I will strive to correct it.

I will strive daily to become the best possible version of myself each day.

Would I be the man I am today if he was here?

No.

In his absence I will carry the very best of him forward with me and do my best to Honor his life with my own.

Because I had the honor of being that man’s son.

A man I admire.

His goal for each of his sons was not that we would be him.

It was to be better,
than him.

.

The charge is clear.

We live in order to Honor those that have come before us,
And to, Prepare the way for those yet to come.

And one day, my children might do the same.

I miss you Dad.

I love you Dad.

I am my Father’s Son.

Forward.

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.