I've always been a dreamer, a believer and a seeker.
One of my beliefs is that anything is possible. I think I’ve proven that in my life. I believe in the magic of the moon, in the beauty and healing of Mother Nature, in the cycles and the seasons, and that a good day consists of laughter, authentic connection and sunshine on your face.
In my Travels
In my travels throughout my twenties and thirties I learned that a great bottle of wine can be found anywhere, at any price. That sharing it with a stranger can turn them quickly to a friend and that this can be the catalyst to some of the best memories you will ever have to look back on. That’s about when I stumbled down the rabbit hole. That’s when, even though I didn’t know it yet, I had found my second dream. That’s when Two Wolves was born.
My own Way
Later I saw a movie called Red Obsession and in it is Lalou Bize-Leroy. And here’s this quirky magnificent woman doing things her way. What a bad ass. And I started to daydream. I started online courses at WSET and UCLA. I would jump off stage sweating and shaking from adrenaline, and hurry to my computer to take my tests. I made pilgrimages to wine regions all over the world: Bordeaux, Australia, Napa, South Africa, Paso Robles, the Central Coast. I would study a single varietal or style each trip: in Bordeaux, Cheval Blanc and Pontet-Canet…Alfred and his mules and the hand-sorting. Learning about Cabernet Franc at Clos Rougeard from Charly Foulcault… May he rest in peace.
So, after years & years
So, after years and years of fantasizing and making terrible carboys of wine in my closets, we took our baby girl and left the city, and plunked ourselves down on an organic vineyard in Santa Barbara County. I immediately signed us up for classes at Allan Hancock College, and we started making wine in the garage. But surprisingly, it was the farming that I most looked forward to. Pruning is one of my favorite things to do in the world, and the best way to listen to a new album, start to finish. Do me a favor though, put sunscreen on your butt where your shirt rides up. No one told me that. I wish they would’ve.
We were true garagistes.
It was the hardest labor I have ever done outside of a concert…and I was hooked. From the beginning, I always knew that I knew just enough to be dangerous. And I think that gives me a fresh perspective and a willingness to experiment, because when you don’t yet know all the rules, anything is possible. What a beautiful place to be. I have the most incredible mentors and the most incredible team. For the last six years I’ve been surrounded by passionate, smart, capable and experienced women and men, helping me along and stopping me right before I tear out a wall with a forklift (they’re like drifter cars!!!)
In this industry
The more I met people in this industry- the more I realized that these were people that could teach you much more about life than about wine. They could teach you about the seasons, about the soil, about the bumble bees, about family, and hard work, and passion, and the sharing and giving of information and experience. About helpfulness, about community, about food. About quiet. And about the moon. Oh the moon. How happy I was to know she had such a part in all of this.
