Welcome to Bill’s Blog, where we celebrate life’s sweet moments and quality time.

The stories will be based on the general theme of getting more sweet time out of life and friends of Potter’s Vineyard that have brought us pure joy!

Let’s face it – we all need more uplifting stories!  Plus, we need more quality time!  Quality time for me is Time-Sweet-Time.  Other than Home-Sweet-Home there’s not many more uplifting three-word statements than Time-Sweet-Time.  And there’s not a better way to say thank you to so many of you who have brought us pure sweet joy

This first issue was written when I had more time.  It spawned from our annual restful recharge trip to Arizona.  It’s a time for us to relax, reconnecting with good friends, and recharge us before we re-open the tasting room.  

Our annual restful recharge is not only a trip to enjoy the warm winter weather and rest and relaxation, but it’s about the people we get to see.  Sandy’s cousin Lori and her husband Joel are very near and dear to us and I have personally enjoyed many visits with them during personal and business trips to Arizona.  In addition to Lori and Joel, one of our very best friends in life are Rob and Lisa.  Rob and Lisa moved from Tigard Oregon to the Gilbert/Chandler, Arizona area in 2016.  What a thrill we get every year to have extended time with them each winter.

I am sad to share that Rob found out some very bad news earlier this year.  His prostate cancer that was in remission the past few years has metastasized and moved into stage 4.  So, I’m dedicating this first blog to Rob and Lisa.  If anyone needs Time-Sweet-Time it is them and their families.  

Rob and his beautiful family

I’ve known Rob and Lisa since the late ‘90’s.  Our kids were the same age when we met, they went to the same schools, we coached together, we went to Church together, we played sports together and we were on a similar wine journey, discovering good wine and good food with Sandy, Lisa and other couples.

We actually did our first wine tasting together around 2004!  Who would have thought that ten years later Rob and I would be bringing grapes into that same winery.  

Recall, that we bought the vineyard in 2012 and worked with Laura Volkman on a one-year consulting contract where she taught us everything about growing and making Pinot Noir from our vineyard.  We made wine together with Laura in 2012, but we were on our own for the 2013 vintage.  We could certainly call for more help, but our official agreement was over and she had just spent an entire year helping us to succeed on our own.  

Everything seemed to go well that entire year.  Sandy and I were excited, we had help in the vineyard, I was getting good on the tractor, and we had the good news that Art and Gretchen (our future Assistant Winemaker and wife) were willing to help us if we started a Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay project to add to the Pinot Noir.

Then came the 2013 harvest.  And wow did it arrive with a fury!  Laura called me and said “we are picking tomorrow” (which was September 27th, 2013).  I said, “I thought we were picking October 5th”.  She said, “there’s 8 inches of rain projected to arrive in the area” and she thought the tender Pinot Noir clusters might get damaged from the heavy drenching that was expected.  Laura called on a Thursday morning and we had to hustle to get a crew lined up to help us pick the next morning.  Rob, who owns a garage door company was planning to help me trailer our grapes to the winery, but with the change in schedule, he couldn’t be there that day.

We found a crew and another trailer, but they couldn’t get there till the afternoon.  They arrived, but with fewer people than they needed, so we picked as fast as we could but ran into darkness with only half the vineyard picked.  Picking grapes in the dark (without lights) is dangerous with sharp shears and lots of fingers in the way to cut off when you can’t see.  So, despite my pleadings, we called it for the evening.  The crew said they were booked in the morning but would try to swing our way early and fit in the rest of the picking before they moved on.

Then a light rain started in as a precursor to the couple more days of the solid heavy rain projected.  To get ready for the kind of challenge, I spent many years studying about growing grapes and making wine under the worst kind of conditions, but the chapter in the text about stopping Mother Nature from this kind of torment didn’t have a lot of helpful details.  I literally did not sleep that night.  I kept hearing the rain and got up several times to check it out.  It rained steady but it wasn’t as heavy as it was projected to be later the next day.  I finally got up and made myself busy but I was nearly to the point of cancelling the crew anyway thinking we lost the rest of the harvest.  There’s a bit of confusion as to why, but suffice it to say, you can’t make good wine with harvested grapes that are being rained on.  

Then at around 6:00 am Rob texted me and said he was on his way.  In my stupor I think I told him not to bother because it was still raining, and I didn’t think the crew would show up anyway.  I was really discouraged.

Rob called me around 6:45 am and said he was coming anyway.  It was classic Rob; persuasive but always very positive when he said, “we can pick it ourselves even if the crew doesn’t show up”.  

Here’s what happened next.  Rob showed up at 7:15. The harvest crew showed up at 7:30 and even brought more people than before.  Then just before the crew was about to give up due to the rain, the sky turned blue, a light breeze came through that dried out the grapes and we picked the rest of the vineyard!  

We got done so early that when Rob and I showed up at the winery with the grape bins, no one was there.  We had to fork the bins off the trailer ourselves.  Guess who didn’t know how to drive a forklift yet (me) guess who did (Rob).  

This was one of those times that you know you are being looked out for.  Now it’s my turn to channel that toward Rob’s cancer.  Please also send very good vibes Rob and Lisa’s way!  

That’s my ask for you.  

Thanks for reading this first issue of Time-Sweet-Time.  I’m certain many of you and those that you know need more Time-Sweet-Time.  I look forward to sharing more of these stories that inspire us all to embrace life’s sweetest moments.

Cheers to you and cheers to a lot more Time-Sweet-Time for Rob and Lisa and others who need good thoughts sent their way!  

Bill