Party like it is 1975

January wanes on and the days begin to stretch a little longer, the wines sleep peaceably in their barrels except for occasional interruption for topping, and one is given a touch of time for reflection. As those who have been following the site for a while know, I am receiving Pinot Noir fruit from the excellent Rebecca’s Vineyard in the Russian River Valley. This is special for a couple of reasons. Josh, who runs the inimitable Pinotblogger, owns and manages the vineyard. He and I met while attending an OIV seminar where he turned me on to the possibilities of the blogosphere. The site would probably not exist yet for the kick in the pants that he gave me.

Second, the vineyard lies directly across the road from Joe Swan Winery. Joe, an airline pilot and amazingly successful union negotiator, had the vineyard and little winery as a secondary vocation. In 1974, my dad latched onto him as a person from which to learn the craft of winemaking.  It was there that dad made the first small batches of wine that would start the little Ravenswood Winery. While my dad was working there Joe decided to build a new winery– one that was big enough to move comfortably around in but was also small enough to prevent him from getting too large. Well, that same winery exists today where Joe’s son-in-law, Rod Berglund, continues to make the wine. On a recent visit to say hello, Joe’s daughter Lynn showed me a few amazing photos she had lying around from the time of construction.

There is a strange, long-haired, man in all of the photos typically wearing dark sunglasses and a beret. If of different skin color with slightly nappier hair he might be a member of the Black Panthers. I was terrified to learn that it was my father.

There is something wonderful about seeing these photos.  My dad was right around my age here, 28 or 29, and was a crazy researcher working at cancer immunology.  If he did not have the informative experiences chronicled here there is little chance that I would be writing about wine and starting my own little winery right now.  It also highlights how a number of us are the first substantive “second generation” winemakers in California.  A reminder of how small the industry was until quite recently, and also how the increased resonance and appreciation of wine in the American household is making it viable for us to actually continue the tradition.

Enjoy.

This is my dad, Joe, and Andre Tcheletiff of Beaulieu examining a dying vine.

My personal favorite.

A big thank you to Lynn Berglund for sharing these pictures.