Full of thanks

John on Wine – Full of Thanks

This piece ran originally as a wine column in the Ukiah Daily Journal on Wednesday, November 25, 2015

This is my favorite column of the year to write, and I so much love giving thanks for the overabundance of blessings that come my way that I wrote a May column of thanks this year to keep this piece from overflowing into thousands of words.

First, a little news; I have been hired by the Board of Directors of the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association (AVWA) to be their new Executive Director. My job will be to promote the member wineries and vineyards, and associated lodging and restaurant members, of the area, to help mount four wonderful events each year, and to tell the story of Anderson Valley. I am a storyteller, and this is a story I can’t wait to share, the beauty of the valley, and redwood forests, and Mendocino coastline along Highway 128, the incredibly focused attention on world class Pinot Noir and Alsace varietal wines in Anderson Valley’s vineyards, and the breathtakingly soul shuddering wonder of the wines made by some of California’s best winemakers. Thank you to the AVWA Board for your trust and confidence, I can’t wait to begin.

Thanks also to Janis MacDonald, the current AVWA Executive Director, who will work alongside me, for all of your support and kindness. I have written before that I think Janis is the most competent Executive Director a wine area could hope for, and I look forward to learning from you. You will help me achieve similar competence and I am so appreciative that you will be staying and helping me. Together, our shared passion and hard work will benefit Anderson Valley, and Mendocino County’s larger wine scene. We will make a terrific team.

For almost five years, I have been Guinness McFadden’s tasting room manager, and working with Guinness has been one of the greatest honors of my professional career in the wine industry. For the past five years, Guinness has trusted me with his retail operations, wine clubs, event planning, marketing, and promotion; thank you Guinness for allowing me an incredible amount of freedom to help build your brand.

Guinness was an officer in the U.S. Navy and I was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, and our military pasts helped define how we worked together; Guinness would tell me what he wanted, I would make it happen. Guinness didn’t micromanage me, or tell me how to do my job, he simply told me what he wanted, and allowed me the freedom to execute his wishes. Our working relationship has been spectacular.

I look up to Guinness, and have learned so much from him. Working for the county’s premier organic and biodiverse farmer, I know so much more about growing than I did five years ago. Guinness also gave me opportunities unique for a tasting room manager; he let me set the dosage on his sparkling wines, and influence the blend of his Coro wines.

Guinness McFadden is my friend; I love McFadden wines, I love what I have come to think as my tasting room, and I will be available, and come back for events and wine club runs, and help out on my off time, as Guinness wishes, until my successor is up and running, trained and confident.

Thank you Guinness, for everything you have done for me these last five years, and for your support and blessing as I embark on my new adventure. I am looking forward to attending your Annual Farm Party next year on Saturday, July 9, 2016 in Potter Valley, without working.

I have had a number of folks I’ve worked with in the McFadden Farm Stand & Tasting Room, and I want to thank the three who have been here the longest; thank you Eugene Gonsalves, Ann Beauchamp, and Juanita Plaza. I’ve never thought of you as my employees, and asked you not to refer to me as your boss; we are a team, and you are as responsible for our successes as much as I am. I love each of you, you are my friends, and I thank you for your support.

Having a retail shop 45 minutes away from our farm means that I have relied on a whole other team of incredibly competent people to serve the visitors to our tasting room; our team at McFadden is bigger than just my crew in Hopland. I have to thank everyone, from the folks who tend our grapes, herbs, and beef to the folks in the office who cut paychecks, provide me accurate inventories, and handle my orders for fulfillment.

Of you all, special thanks go to my counterpart in the farm office, Guinness’ manager Shana Estes. Shana and I have talked almost daily for five years; I adore you, and thank you for all of your help and support of our retail operation, while managing a Herculean work load at the farm. You amaze me.

Finally, thanks to the folks at the Ukiah Daily Journal who run my column, for giving me the opportunity to share my love of wine with your readers, hopefully influencing some to come out wine tasting, attend wine events, or join me at a winemaker’s dinner; and, of course, thank you to you, the readers, for your support, feedback, and kind words about pieces I have written.

I may be the most fortunate person in all of Mendocino County’s wine industry, I love my life, and I thank all of you for every opportunity you have granted me.
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Oh, here’s the answer to the question of the day, “what wine goes with turkey?”

I recommend either a Pinot Noir from McFadden Farm or any Anderson Valley producer, or a dry Gewurztraminer from…you guessed it…McFadden or an Anderson Valley producer.

 

Thanks for another great annual McFadden Farm Party

Thanks. I usually write a newspaper wine column giving thanks around the end of November, and sometimes another piece for the paper when my need to thank people is overwhelming and the list of people deserving of thanks is so long that it can’t wait until Thanksgiving’s column.

Today, I’m writing a long note of thanks, not for the paper, but for my website, because I have many people to thank, and instead of folks throughout the Mendocino wine scene – my normal ‘beat’ – this is a piece all about the annual party at McFadden Farm, just held over the weekend, on Saturday, July 11, 2015.

I manage the McFadden Farm Stand & Tasting Room in Hopland for Guinness McFadden and his family; I am the tasting room manager, wine club manager, marketing manager, and event manager. There is no way that someone can wear so many hats and not rely on a team of folks to help make things happen. I am blessed to have several teams who do an amazing job, helping me provide great products and service to the folks who visit and become customers.

Each year, we have a party at McFadden farm on the second Saturday of July. The name of the party is malleable; some call it the Wine Club Party, others the annual McFadden Farm BBQ Dance Party, while many others simply call it Fontaine’s party. It is all of those things and more.

McFadden Farm is a 550 acre organic and bio diverse family farm located at the very north end of Potter Valley in Mendocino County. The Russian River begins on McFadden Farm. In addition to highly prized organically grown grapes, McFadden Farm raises organic grass fed beef, organic air dried herbs, and many more organic farm fresh and healthy goods. McFadden Farm has a hydroelectric plant and over 300 solar panels and is far beyond energy independent, providing excess energy to power much of Potter Valley. McFadden Farm has an artist in residence who throws culinary pottery at the farm. McFadden Farm is an amazing place, and breathtakingly gorgeous, but it is located 45 minutes northeast of the tasting room in Hopland (Oh, how I wish the farm and vineyard were right out my back door in Hopland for daily tours).

Once each year, all of the folks who visit the tasting room and buy wine and other farm goods, and the folks who join our wine club to get the best savings on wine (15-35% discounts and 1 penny shipping on cases), get a chance to see the Farm. This second Saturday of July party is our version of a Wine Club Dinner, and our Wine Club members get a $15 discount on tickets to the party. Guinness has many friends and they want to come too, so the party isn’t a wine club exclusive event, and the public buys tickets too. I wrote about the event for a column in the newspaper and my readers bought tickets; all that said, Guinness’ daughter Anne-Fontaine has a ton of friends who buy tickets and come to the party.

And so the thanks start with Fontaine. The measure of a person’s wonderfulness isn’t how many good things they say about themselves, but how many people say good things about them. Even then, words are cheap. Fontaine is such a spectacular person that about 100 people pay $85 each and then drive over two hours from San Francisco, Oakland, and elsewhere in the Bay Area, to come to what could fairly be called the Fontaine Party at McFadden Farm.

Fontaine brings a team of chef friends from San Francisco to cook all of the farm fresh vegetable, salad, and dessert dishes. Thanks to chefs Anne Olson and Kristene Loyaza. Fontaine arranges for all of the tables, linen, plates, glasses, and silverware, and gets it all set up. Fontaine arranges with local food growers for organic whole pork and lambs. Fontaine takes care of the music. Fontaine is a dynamo. The ultimate reflection on how terrific Fontaine is, is how nice all of her friends are. It is said that you are judged by the company you keep, and if applied to Fontaine then this would be the ultimate compliment, because everyone of her friends is friendly, cheerful, helpful, happy, and kind.

Fontaine brought the Kelly MacFarling band back to play again this year, and a band I already loved was even better this year, and all who attended loved her, getting up and dancing, and applauding each terrifically rendered song. When Kelly and her band finished their last song, the dance mix piped through the sound system was well chosen to keep the fun going, and the fun and dancing continued late into the night. Great music! Thank you Kelly.

Adam Gaska provided the pork from Mendocino Organics, and it was opened, the bones were removed, it was stuffed full of fresh McFadden herbs, closed up again, and cooked whole by Mac Magruder. Mac also provided the whole lambs which were marinated and cooked by McFadden’s own grill masters, Benny Alvarez and Isidoro Gonzalez. Thanks to team meat!

Thanks to Ernesto Medina, who ordinarily packs a lot of wine for shipment throughout the year, but was your tractor driver, pulling a flatbed trailer with blanket covered straw bales, shuttling you from parking up by the farm office down to the party site next to the river, for the event. Guinness, himself, gave folks rides back to their cars later as the party wore down.

Wine. When I left the party, we had poured 276 bottles, and Fontaine was going in for more. I handle wine, but not alone, and have some folks on my team to thank. Thanks first to Ann Beauchamp. Ann worked in the tasting room Saturday, and then raced up to the Farm and was beside me as we poured a line up that included our 2014 Chardonnay, 2014 Sauvignon Blanc, 2014 Pinot Gris, 2013 Gewurztraminer, 2012 Old Vine Zinfandel, 2013 Pinot Noir, and NV Sparkling Cuvee Brut. My date for the night, and former McFadden bookkeeper, Heather Shafer, and our gal Monday at the tasting room, Amanda Bewley-Clark, also poured. Thank you Heather and Amanda.

When it came time to sit for dinner, I had two new wines that had to hit 20 tables at once, our new 2012 Coro Mendocino and 2014 (dry) Riesling, plus our 2011 Late Harvest Riesling for dessert, and a random assortment of other current release bottles. I pointed fingers and ‘volunteered’ folks to help me, among them Gracia Brown. Thanks to all of you.

The wine didn’t show up at the party by magic. Shana Estes is my counterpart at the farm, the McFadden Farm office manager, and like me wears many hats. I would not be able to do my job without Shana and I adore her. Shana and I went over and over inventory, making sure we were stocked at the tasting room to meet post-party wine sale needs, and ensuring that all of the night’s wine would be on hand and stored in our giant walk in cooler beneath the power plant. Shana is assisted by Shannon Smith, who helped before and during the event, and Andrea Caldwell, our bookkeeper, who took care of payments for all of the increased spending a party like this entails. Thanks Shana, Shannon, and Andrea.

Anthony Bewley and Cody Simpson are my muscle. Together, they bring the weekly resupply from the farm to the tasting room, and for the party they moved all of the wine to the coolers and then to the tables where we would pour from. Anthony and Cody also iced the white wines and bubbly, and helped me remove 108 corks from bottles before the guests arrived so service could be seamless and timely. No one knows how much I rely on you two, well they didn’t until now. Thank you Anthony and Cody!

Thank you, Guinness McFadden. I started working for Guinness in March 2011. Each year, each month, each week, each day, we find new things for me to do. Whatever the job description may have been when I first chatted with you has certainly changed. Today, my job defies description, but I love working for you. You are a man of vision, having created the most amazing business, place to live, and farm from pure imagination and hard work. We work well together, you a former Navy officer and me a former Army Sergeant; you tell me what – not how – you want, and I execute, usually with help from other members of your team. I thank you for the freedom to do my job well for you. I respect you, like you, and want to see your business continue to succeed and grow. Cheers!

Thanks also to your better half, Judith Bailey, for making you a happy man, which certainly makes my job easier than if you were a grumpy man. Judith’s love and wise counsel makes McFadden Farm a better place.

To the 200 people who came to our party to enjoy wine and appetizers, to tour of the farm with Guinness, to sit down for a family style dinner of local organic farm fresh food and more wine, to get up and dance – fueled by more wine, and finally to crawl into your tents for overnight camping at party’s end sometime early Sunday morning, THANK YOU. We couldn’t have a party if you didn’t buy tickets.

This year’s party sold out. Next year’s party will sell out sooner, so I will thank you for picking up your tickets for the best party thrown in the wine industry earlier next year than you did this year so you won’t be one of the people I have to tell that all the tickets are gone next year.

Fontaine said after it was over that this was the best farm party yet, and we all agree, but we took notes and there will be improvements next year because we believe in making it better and better for you.

Open up your calendar app, or open your day planner, and circle Saturday, July 9, 2016 on your calendar and write, “McFadden Farm Party” on the date, so you remember to come join us next year. We’ll open up the online ticket sales for next year in about a week.

Thanks all for reading, and for attending our annual farm party at McFadden Farm…or for considering attending one in the future.