At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life

At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life by Susan Sokol Blosser is one book that seems to offer an exception to the adage, "you can't judge a book by its cover". Just as the subtitle suggests, At Home in the Vineyard effectively describes the slow, steady transformation of an estate winery, a wine industry, and a human being over a period of more than 30 years. It is an intimate study of all three components delivered in a narrative style that keeps you engaged from start to finish. This book is first and foremost a memoir describing the author's experiences planting a vineyard, starting a winery, and managing both through several decades of trials and tribulations. In addition, Susan provides the reader a first-hand historical account of the Oregon wine industry from its beginnings in the early 1970's. Along the way, she offers candid insights into her personal and professional growth as a wife, mother, business owner, daughter, sister, community leader, friend, and neighbor. Until reading this book, I never realized the integral role Susan Sokol Blosser played in developing Oregon's wine industry. Nor did I know about the lead role Sokol Blosser Winery took toward adopting sustainable practices, becoming one of the first vineyards to be certified by LIVE and the first winery to be certified by LEED. This is impressive considering the impact these efforts have had on the rest of the state's wine industry. Having read a variety of wine memoirs, Susan's story stands out as one of the more insightful and intriguing books of its genre. At Home in the Vineyard should appeal to the wine enthusiast, aspiring winemaker, and Oregon pinot fan alike. Anyone reading this book will come away more connected to the people and places behind Oregon wine in general, and Sokol Blosser Winery in particular. If you are seeking to understand Oregon wine in a deeper, more connected way, then you owe it to yourself to read At Home in the Vineyard.

I found Hargrave's autobiography pompous and dull, but 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.

This is a brilliant book written by a highly intelligent and unusual woman. It is probably headed towards becoming a minor classic. Like all great books it is not easy to classify. At its most superficial it purports to be a history of the Oregon wine industry, a subject of limited interest. At another level it is a business autobiography by a woman who heads a successful Oregon winery, a subject of slightly wider appeal. Yet both levels simply form a frame to answer more eternal questions: who am I and how did I get to be who I am? At that deeper level the book may come to have a more lasting life. Emerging into adulthood in the early 1970's the author and her husband bought land in Oregon and planted grape vines which ultimately led to the Sokol-Blosser Winery. That they were in their early twenties with no business experience, no knowledge of the wine industry, and no knowledge of agricultural did not then occur to them as an insurmountable obstacle. Nearly forty years later after taking over the business from her husband, surviving the disinvestment of her brothers, droughts, rain storms, a volcanic eruption, separation from business partners, 20% interest rates, three children, a three-legged cat, recalcitrant geese, a mid-life divorce, love unexpectedly found anew, success in business and failure in politics, the author recounts with great honesty the trials and tribulations of a woman's life in the second half of the 20th century as mother, wife, and CEO. While the author ascribes the emerging success of her business mainly to determination and some luck, her intelligence and judgment shine through and provide a more convincing explanation. That no rancor invades the author's tale, despite many instances where bitterness and acrimony would be a natural response, suggests that her skill and judgment in negotiating difficult situations may have counted more heavily than simple determination. The author's seriousness is often leavened with humor. It is a book well worth reading.

Susan Sokol Blosser's narrative of her experiences surprised me by its appeal. It is beautifully written -- lyrical and honest -- and draws the reader into the personalities of the people, their fortunes and misfortunes. That is what we could expect of any good memoir. What surprised me was how engaging the author's description of the business of creating vineyards and a winery and marketing their products, along with the struggle to do so with environmentally sound practices. This is a person who has lived her principles and created a richly rewarding life.

I could not put down this fascinating account of the history of Oregon wine that we love. Be prepared to be amused at how these wine rookies learned their craft, nervous whether they would actually be successful, and amazed at how they created a family business to be proud of.