Family Grape Growers Tell What Family Enterprises Mean to Them: Part Two

It's that time in San Francisco, the weekend of the important Family Winemaker’s tasting.  Family Winemakers, Family Grape Growers...there is a kindred spirit here.  We asked El Dorado Wine Grape Growers Association members “What’s a family enterprise mean to you?”.  Some of the key words from the replies that keep coming in:  risk, reward, daily involvement, soul, vulnerability, thrill, self-reliance.

Linda Neal of Mellowood Vineyard bought 25 acres in the Fair Play area of El Dorado County in 2000 and promptly proceeded to carve out 9 acres and in 2002 planted Zinfandel and Syrah.  The first wines were bottled in 2008.  Her mission at Mellowood is to create delicious wines that would bring you to the incredible Sierra Foothills with each sip.

Linda Neal in vineyard
in winter

"When I think of a family enterprise, it is a business where only the money of the family is at risk and they take an active role in the day to day operations of the business," said Linda.

"Why am I a farmer? I don’t think one can rationalize being a farmer. There is just something in your soul that has drawn you to the earth. The risks are very tangible, your vulnerability to the market, weather, the equipment, labor shortages and government regulation are high. You can lose everything you have worked for in the blink of an eye. 

The vineyard
in spring

"The rewards are less tangible, feelings that range from the quiet peace of communing with nature on a beautiful spring day, when you are suckering alone, to the pride you feel walking through the vineyard in late harvest as the leaves begin to turn and you start sampling grapes to time harvest, to the thrill of the working with a crew at harvest as they run and sing while working a fever pitch to get the grapes in. And yes, even the juice of fear is part of the draw, like drawing nearer to the cliff edge as each of the dangers approaches and is battled. 



"No sane person does it," she said.

HER PATH TO FAMILY FARMING/GRAPE-GROWING

"I started on the path to becoming a farmer in High School, when I enrolled in FFA and Ag Classes, because it looked like fun. FFA changed my life and I knew that somehow I must pursue a career in agriculture. 

While still in college, I got my PCA license. Right out of school I got a job managing a retail store of ag products, then I worked for an almond grower/processor in Madera. I became the northern California sales representative for Rhone Poulenc, an international manufacturer of Ag Chemicals. 

"I had a vineyard management company in the Napa Valley for over 20 years, during which time I purchased and developed a vineyard in Oakville and later another in Fair Play. I held a Farm Labor Contractor’s License. At the time I left vineyard management, I ran a crew of 100 over 1000 acres. 

"I now only farm for myself and produce wines from both the Tierra Roja Vineyard in Oakville, Napa Valley and the Mellowood Vineyard in Fair Play, El Dorado."

Harvest at Mellowood Vineyard! 
Making it all worthwhile