Fruit of the Vine

Some of our favorite volunteers visited us yesterday, at the same time marking what surely, finally must be the onset of spring. These are the Oenology & Viticulture students at Walla Walla Community College.

For the past several years, they've come out a few times each year to prune our Black Prince/Cinseault grapes planted back in the 1990s by winemaker of note Berle 'Rusty' Figgins. Rusty comes by his talent honestly: his maternal grandfather was Francesco Leonetti, whose name adorns one of the appellation's finest wineries. Our vineyard is an interesting project for the kids in that we do not trellis our vines, like you see all across the valley these days. Instead, we manage them the way an earlier age did it, known as 'stake trained' or 'bush trained.' The center is pruned out, allowing sunlight to reach all the remaining branches and grapes. In the 'old days,' this was by far the least expensive way of producing a crop.

In today's photos you can see our groundsman Jim (in his ever-present ball cap) speaking with Billo who heads up the viticulture program, as well as a number of the students participating in the spring tune-up for the vineyard. It's a great piece of work they do on our behalf, much appreciated and really makes for an interesting experience for our visitors. By the way, the grapes are delicious!

Thinking Small

Small stuff ... everyone tells you "don't sweat the small stuff." And yet, we seem to be eternally fascinated with things of a minor note. Chidlren's toys are often miniatures of the real thing, be it a train set or doll house. Beyond that, folks who painstakingly reproduce things in tiny scale leave us in awe.

Why is that? We can all appreciate the significance of new life being smaller than the adult versions. One can see how much effort goes into something like building a ship in a bottle. You can hardly expect your granddaughter to move the livingroom furniture around, so we provide her with a doll house and pint-size funishings. Dolls, too, be they fashionistas or 'army men.'

Whatever the reason, a new exhibit in the Headquarters at Fort Walla Walla Museum can supply you with that awe and the opportunity to contemplate smallness. THINK small features scores of items made in miniature. There's a world of possibility waiting for you.