Cultivating a Life

Susan Sokol Blosser's account of building a life in the Dundee Hills of Oregon speaks to me on many levels--as a woman working in the wine industry, a woman working with her husband, a woman running her own business, and a mother. Susan turns her trials into triumphs and exercises a sense of humor along the way. From the Great Goose Experiment to the day her tearful son rides his bike all the way to school by himself, this is a story that will transport you into "The Life" of owning a vineyard and winery, with a judicial salting of reality and romance.

In At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life, Susan talks about their wild card decision to plant a vineyard in Oregon in the 1970's.  But it's also the story of a young, idealistic bride who has been groomed to "please" her husband and family.  Said bride is confronted with unhappy investors, disgruntled family members, distributor ennui, divorce, and disastrous vintages.  But along the way she collects some overly affectionate geese, useless peacocks, a three-legged cat, and some loyal staff members. 

By the end of the book, we see a woman who can confidently drive a vineyard tractor with her baby daughter strapped in beside her, navigate the corridors of politics, travel widely in support of her brand and her region, and take the reins as owner and CEO of her own company. 

If you dream of someday owning your own vineyard or winery, this autobiography should be part of your literary quest.  If you are a single, working mother you will resonate to young Alex' cry when he says, "Mom, why can't you stay at home and be a real mother like Wilma?"   But most of all, I was impressed by Susan Sokol Blosser's willingness to lay her heart on the table, to pour her sorrow, joy and fears into a glass.  It's one thing to critique a winegrower's wines.  Susan is offering her heart.