Any winemaker worth his or her salt will readily admit that wine is not made, it’s grown in the vineyard. Dedicated viticulturists agree, and though they’re the ones who tirelessly feed, water, prune, and tie up the vines, they usually credit sun and soil with performing the alchemy that yields fat berries full of wondrous juice.
Writer and viticulturist Chris Jones farms Faith Vineyard, near Los Olivos, with her husband. She considers grape juice—the raw material without which winemakers cannot ply their trade—as nothing short of “miraculous.” To honor both the magic of grape growing and the concurrent rhythms of life, she has written One Vintage: A Year in the Vineyard, a book that is part memoir and part heartfelt homage to the tenacity of
farmers everywhere.
“I’m not a writer by training,” Jones admitted. “When my husband, John, and I planted our vineyard, I never thought that five years later I would be prompted, while pruning our vines, to write a book about my experience in our vineyard.
“Not only is the book about one year in our vineyard,” she added, “it’s about life’s circularity.”
A lively page-turner illustrated with evocative color photographs taken by the author, One Vintage mirrors the passions of wine-loving readers, while offering a handheld journey through a vineyard’s seasons. It comprises a time capsule of viticultural life, complete with pesky pests, aching backs, personal challenges, and the universal thrill of a successful harvest.
Opening with a brief glossary of viticultural terms—such as “cordon” (a permanent cane) and “shoot” (current growth bearing leaves and buds)—Jones begins her journey around the growing cycle in late autumn, as the grape vines shut down for winter. Already preparing for next year’s crop, she and John carefully prune the vines, a labor-intensive proposition that demands patience, skill, and a strong back.
After budbreak in spring, Jones recounts the drudgery of shoot removal, the predations of destructive gophers, and the birth of her daughter, in which she senses a profound parallel as she and John “deliver” their first clusters of grapes after a season of hard labor.
Among the descriptions of “shatter” (when unfertilized grape flowers fall apart) and the anxiety over weather (frost in spring, sunless days in fall, and dampness throughout the growing season), Jones integrates anecdotes about such things as her daughter’s serious illness, an elderly neighbor’s death, and “sweet spot” moments with family and friends.
“Always challenging, always changing,” Jones writes, “the life of the vineyard is a mystery that tenderly teaches and touches my soul.”
The Joneses planted their seven-acre vineyard to Sauvignon Blanc and Sangiovese 10 years ago, hoping the gravelly clay loam of the Santa Ynez Valley would support their dream.
“We christened our new venture ‘Faith Vineyard,’” Jones explained, “for the belief in something of which there is no proof.”
The Joneses do the lion’s share of the vineyard work themselves and sell most of their fruit to local wineries. Among them is Foxen Vineyard, whose winemaker, Bill Wathen, is also an accomplished and highly respected grape grower.
“One Vintage gives us an authentic and sensitive look at wine grape growing,” Wathen wrote in a review of the book. “Chris has captured the subtle imprint of the ‘farmers’ footsteps’ in the vineyard … and she tenderly describes the experience of the wine grape farmer’s quest for balance through the annual cycles in the vineyard.”
Upon finishing the book, Jones found that publishers were unsure about how to market it and declined to take it on. In the typical can-do fashion of a determined farmer, she bravely took matters into her own hands.
“The book didn’t fall into any typical category,” Jones explained, “and rather than compromise my vision, I decided to start my own publishing house: Sage Hill Publishing. One Vintage is the first book that I have written and published.”
Although “it took some doing,” Jones had the book bound in spongy natural cork to better represent the organic and authentic content.
“I had the book printed and bound in Arizona, rather than Asia,” she said, “because I like supporting the locals. And that’s why I’m selling it through local merchants and independent bookstores, as well as on my website.
“When someone reads One Vintage,” Jones said, “they will interpret the book through the lens of their own personal perspective, and although each of us is unique, I hope each reader sees how we are all part of the continuous rhythm and cycle of the seasons.”
K. Reka Badger is filled with organic and authentic content. E-mail comments or ideas to rekabadger@hotmail.com.
This article appears in Jan 22-29, 2009.
