*Steve + Candice at Candice’s colleague Grant’s house. We purchased his winemaking equipment and he poured us a glass of Tempranillo he made.*

We did a thing!

Every great adventure begins with an outlandish idea. We bought a whole bunch of winemaking equipment from a lawyer colleague of Candice’s, Grant, who was moving to a houseboat and was retiring his winemaking hobby.

We joked about how we’re making wine instead of making a baby. It’ll be our little wine baby. Candice says, “I’m going to hold plump little grapes in my hands and hug them and kiss them and love them and guide them and nurture them into what they’re meant to be.”

We rented a U-Haul to pick everything up and got a great deal on an operation that will allow us to make up to 10 tons of wine at a time—field bins, fermenters, a press, a bottling machine, and so much more stuff.

We had a glass of Tempranillo with Grant and his wife that they had made with this equipment, and it was delicious. They gave us all sorts of advice and offers to help.

I know, you’re wondering, “Wait, what the hell? How did you decide to do this? What is happeninggg??”

We sort of rushed into this, and sometimes the best things in life happen that way.

Here’s the story, if you’re interested.

A few months ago, Candice brought Steve to her family’s vineyard in Umpqua Valley, Oregon, to spend time with her mom. Candice’s dad died a year ago, and her grief was sudden, all-encompassing, and confusing in ways she did not anticipate. She took space from her family, so she hadn’t seen her mom or visited the family vineyard for several months, other than to attend her dad’s memorial.

During that period of grief, Candice connected with Steve, who had been a friend for many years. She started noticing that Steve would frequently remind her of the best, funniest things about her dad. She was delighted when she visited Steve’s place in Battle Ground for the first time and saw the unfinished projects all over his property. She was giddy when Steve insisted on pulling over to look at a pile of free stuff on the side of the road. Every little thing he did like this brought her so much joy. Candice had never once dated anyone who reminded her of her dad. They had a complicated relationship. But in her grief, seeing the best, funniest parts of her dad in Steve helped her to heal and brought the twinkle back to her eyes. She found herself increasingly able to celebrate who her dad was, rather than being sad and angry about everything we had lost.

Candice was eager to reconnect with her mom and have her meet Steve. Her mom traveled to Portland for Mother’s Day, and they had a lovely time, and she got to meet Steve for the first time. Candice brought Steve down to the vineyard for the first time in June, and he loved it. We did a walk around the vineyard every morning with coffee in hand, and every evening with a glass of wine in hand. We visited other tasting rooms in Umpqua Valley. It was a magical weekend.

Steve was falling in love with the vineyard, and at the same time, Candice was realizing how uniquely suited to winemaking he would be. He has degrees in Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, and an MBA. He was a former luxury car mechanic at his family’s business. He was a former homebrewer. The Chemistry degree and homebrewing experience are obvious qualifications, but Candice happens to know a few other things about the wine business. Number 1: Everything is always breaking, and being able to understand, work with, maintenance, and repair machines is a huge asset to a winery; hence, the Mechanical Engineering degree and background as a mechanic would come in handy. Number 2: Wine is a business, and if you’re going to have a winery, you need to understand how to run a business; hence, the MBA and background in the family business would be useful. Number 3: Wine is a luxury product (#notallwines), so that background working with customers who have luxury cars would come in handy.

As Candice was thinking about how uniquely suited to the winemaking business Steve would be, he mentioned he was considering planting grape vines on his property. Who could blame him? The vineyard is beautiful. Being there is romantic. But knowing how challenging and expensive the viticulture business is, and how long it is until you have wine to sell, Candice suggested he start by making wine before committing to planting a vineyard.

At first, it was a “hmmm…yes, something to think about for the future” sort of thing, but it all escalated rapidly from there. A couple weeks later, on a listserv Candice is a member of, she saw the post from Grant, the colleague who was selling his winemaking equipment. Candice screenshotted the email and sent it to Steve. He said it was intriguing, but he couldn’t fathom spending that much money for something he wasn’t sure would be a long-term thing. She asked him how much he’d be willing to spend. He told her the number, and she emailed Grant, telling him that she didn’t mean to insult him with a lowball offer, but that this was the max her partner was willing to spend. To Candice’s surprise, Grant said yes, and that he was glad it would be going to a good home all in one piece.

*Us with our UHaul full of winemaking equipment.*

From there, we thought, well, if we make good wine, we want to be able to sell it. We should start a business and get licensed and permitted. Candice says, “I don’t like doing things half-ass. I don’t want to be tied to something half-ass. I am a person who gives my all to things. I like people to know that whether they are looking to me for legal advice, making wine, or planning a party, that it will be something that reflects whole-assedness.”

So that’s how we got here. Next, we form the business, build the winery at Steve’s place, get the permits and licenses, and make some wine.

Easy, right?

We did a thing!

How it’s going.