The Upper Barn at Kimmel Vineyards
We were in Nor Cal for fourth of July with my (Jill's) family. It is a tradition to spend the weekend of the fourth at the family (Kimmel) ranch in Mendocino County. I grew up there until I was about ten and it is one of those places that will always be "home" for me no matter where I am. It holds an amazing sense of place with loads of open space and habitat surrounding about 40 plus acres of vineyards; we recently released our first vintage of the family label, Kimmel Vineyards. When we were younger (not long ago) and spent way to much time in the sun, we used to spend whole days swimming in and reading beside the two "lakes". They aren't lakes. One is a resevoir and the other is more of a large pond. This trip was much more about sitting around talking and eating, two of my favorite things.
The Fourth of July Crew
We arrived on friday afternoon. It was in the nineties so we promptly changed into our swimsuits (thank you, Nikki, for letting my borrow) and walked to the closest lake for a swim. It was probably quite a site because we only had one floating reclining chair thing, but we all wanted to use it so we all held on to the sides and chatted. I kept freaking out because the reeds on the side of the lake are creepy and if we got close everyone kicked to get back to the middle. Good times. Of course, Kona and Molly (Kimmel Padre's dog) had a great time playing keep away with the ball and swimming in the lake as well.
Kristy (sister) and I
Because the weather was so nice, Tim and I ended up sleeping under the stars in the back of the truck. It was serene to fall asleep with so many stars overhead. Actually, it was almost serene except for the fact that Kona slept with us us well (and by slept with us, I mean she slept on my legs and made it really uncomfortable).
Saturday was very relaxed. Tim and I took a walk to the back "lake" and threw the ball for Kona. She loves the ranch, but what dog wouldn't. The afternoon was consumed with napping and browsing through magazines - excellent. That evening was the Fourth of July so in typical Kimmel style we BBQed and hung out on my grandma's patio.
Nikki & Kona representing Saturday Afternoon at the Ranch
Sunday was a "get-r-done" kind of day. We recently grafted Sauvignon Blanc onto a small part of the vineyard, so we went to check it out. It was bit out of control with lots of shoots coming out of rootstock. Seeing work that needed to be done, we all jumped in and cleaned up the vines: Dad, Mom, Nana, Uncle Jim, Aunt Debby, Tim, myself, and the three dogs. Next, we checked fences and decided to raise a few of the wires because there were corners of the vineyard where deer were getting in and eating the leaves (difficult for photosynthesis if there are no leaves). My Dad was showing Tim what he wanted them to do by lifting the wire over his head and P-O-P! His shoulder popped, he winced, grimaced, and slouched. It was not a good sign. We took him back and set him up with ice for his shoulder. Tim and I went back to mend fences. We almost finished when my uncle came and told us that we needed to take my Dad to the ER. We did and it ended up being a very eventful Sunday. My Dad tore his rotator cuff - poor guy.
Tim and I stripping the unwanted shoots. Unfortunately there are no pictures of us fixing fence.
We finished our weekend by eating pizza with my family in Santa Rosa and hitting the road for home. It started out as a relaxing, easy does it kind of weekend and then ended up going out with a bang...or maybe it was a pop.
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