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Here at BOW, we sometimes like to write about what we're up to. This Blog page is our chance to report from the front line of wine making and we hope you like our silly little thoughts!
Christmas Claire de Lune
Posted on: 19th December, 2009
Claire de Lune and Christmas. I am listening to Claire de Lune and thinking of Christmas. Last nite when I returned home, the lovely Sharon had put up the Christmas tree. She had help from the puppies. "It's a Charlie Brown tree" she sighed. Remember the little sad tree that Charlie Brown chose? Our house tree is quite modest this year and she felt it was too small to fit the collected family ornaments. Alas, I cannot be accused of modesty and I agree. Our little tree is about a third the size of our typical tree and there isn't room for all the lovely decorations Sharon has collected and hidden in the basement.
It all made sense on Monday. We were planning to go to California for 12 days and the thought of a small tree was lovely. Nothing too much at the house; the winery is already so beautifully decorated. The globes hang from the loft above the tasting bar; the globes sparkle above the floors and hang from the tie rods. The winery tree is large enough to make any adult feel like a child again and it holds the spirit of Christmas in its boughs. There are ribbon and bows and garland and candles and spirit everywhere and we have been placing the donated food under the tree as gifts. We were decorated and ready to leave on vacation. But Tuesday morning at 4:45 am I awoke with certainty. With the terrible weather each weekend this month, if we closed the winery for 2 weeks we wouldn't be able to meet payroll and the mortgage and the taxes in early January. The snow and the howling winds and the ice and the freezing rain every...Saturday...and...Sunday...for.. .the...past..month has taken its toll and even the beautiful BOW has seen a drop-off in visitors and friends.
We've had one day off since seeing family and friends last Christmas. That day was Easter. It was a gift. We didn't leave the house. The phones never rang for any reason other than the wishes of family. Next week, we both were pretty ready to go to California. We'd have sat on the beach to drink our coffee. We would hang out at the yacht harbor and drink wine with friends in the evening. We'd see the little happy nieces and the nephews and the parents and the brothers and the sisters and the crazy and great old friends. Everyone gets together when we come home. It would have been nice. Of course the dogs would haven't liked it so much.
But that is what it means to own a business. You see and you anticipate and you recognize what is necessary. When Sharon and I spoke the next morning about it she was not surprised. She understood. She agreed.
But Sharon had also put out the collection of Santa's and Nutcrackers along the high shelf in the living room. Sharon's mom Ruth started the Santa collection. We miss her and it is always good to see them. So we're pretty good with staying home this year. We'll miss those not present and we'll hang low.
I have newly "found time" that I plan to use. I'm going to hang at the winery each day and pour the wine. Instead of closing we'll do a nice quiet time for our friends and guests. "Brian pours the tastings." I'll be there 12-5pm every day but Tuesdays and Christmas. Bring the family. Share a favorite place and time. Picnics for everyone! It'll be like when we first opened and I'm actually looking forward to it. The lovely Sharon may even join me at times. And we'll try to go to California and see family maybe later in January.
So this is our last weekend collecting food for Fauquier's families. I know it's supposed to snow like hell, but if you make it in bring some food. That's alright; I'll plow the driveway. It'll make you feel good. I'll take it all in to F.I.S.H. early next week and there will be a lot of folks with enough food for the holidays. Looks like we'll break the 5000 cans n stuff that we were shooting for. That's over 170 wine boxes of food. We're pretty happy about that. And the dogs are happy that we'll not be leaving for the holidays. So are we.
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- One Journey at a Time. My brother Ben and his wife Kathy travelled around the country this summer with their two kids, Genevieve and Sebastian. Kathy wrote a storyu of the trip and she has posted her photos and story of their visit to us. Enjoy!
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- A lovely online article about BOW in Tasting and Touring Magazine.
- A visitor's blog and photos about BOW from late May, 2009
- A story about BOW's grand opening from the May 8, 2008 Fauquier Times Democrat.
- Editorial in the Fauquier Times Democrat regarding Green Business as Good Business. The editorialist, Joe Gumino, a good friend of BOW, died unexpectedly soon after this editorial was published and we miss him dearly.
- Check out a great article on Barrel Oak Winery's successes in the first year. Thank you Bill Walsh at the Fauquier Times Democrat!
- Read about our green building in the Piedmont Virginian.
- Read about BOW in the Wall Street Journal Online!
- The Unemployed Mom. See what a mom thinks about BOW as the child friendly winery of Virginia!
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