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The Vineyard Years
A Memoir with Recipes
Susan Sokol Blosser
Foreword by Alison Sokol Blosser
Text © 2017 by Susan Sokol Blosser
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.
Portions of this book were previously published in At Home in the Vineyard published by the University of California Press, Berkeley in 2008 and in Letting Go published by susansokolblosser.com in 2015.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sokol Blosser, Susan, author. | Sokol Blosser, Susan. At home in the vineyard.
Title: The vineyard years : a memoir with recipes / by Susan Sokol Blosser.
Description: Portland, Oregon : WestWinds Press, 2017. | “Portions of this book were previously published in At Home in the Vineyard”—Title page verso.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017005980 | ISBN 9781513260716 (paperback) | ISBN 9781513260723 (e-book) | ISBN 9781513260730 (hardbound)
Subjects: LCSH: Sokol Blosser, Susan. | Women vintners—Oregon—Biography. | Vintners—Oregon—Biography. | Wineries—Oregon—Dundee. | Wine and wine making—Oregon—Dundee. | Cooking—Oregon.
Classification: LCC TP547.B56 A3 2017 | DDC 663/.20092 [B] —dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017005980
Edited by Jennifer Newens
Designed by Vicki Knapton
Cover Photo by Andréa Johnson
Published by WestWinds Press ®
An imprint of
Printed in the U.S.A. on FSC Certified Paper.
CONTENTS
Foreword : By Alison Sokol Blosser
CHAPTER ONE: Mac & Cheese Days
Mac & Cheese
Bill’s Meatloaf à la Gascogne
CHAPTER THREE: Oregon Vineyards Multiply
Nick’s Minestrone
CHAPTER FOUR: Vision, Heartache, Love
Saag Paneer
CHAPTER FIVE: Embracing Sustainability
Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Oregon Pink Shrimp, Lemon, Olive Oil, and Herbs
CHAPTER SIX: Passing the Baton
Russ’s Root Vegetable Soup
CHAPTER SEVEN: Second Generation at the Helm
Caribbean Evolution
CHAPTER EIGHT: Not Retirement, Reinvention
Cider-Braised Pork Tacos with Peaches, Fennel Slaw, and Cider Reduction
Farro, Roasted Fennel, Feta & Treviso Radicchio Salad Blueberry Clafoutis
CHAPTER TEN: Oregon Pinot Noir Comes of Age
Russ’s Grilled Wild Salmon
Schaum Torte
CHAPTER TWELVE: One Final Word
Dedication
To those fortunate few who, like me, have been lucky enough to experience the profound joys, and blistering challenges, of being part of a family business.
Foreword
My mother could have had an easy and grand life, following in her mother’s footsteps, with a French poodle by her side and a Mercedes in the garage. Instead, she chose to marry a boy from the West—my father—and become a farmer in Oregon. This is the story of that life.
My mother’s life did not follow a conventional path. Admittedly, I am biased, yet I think you’ll find her story a fascinating one, touching on themes many women—myself included—have struggled with for decades. Her frank retelling of the joys and heartaches of a life lived among the vines echoes that of the vines themselves—growing from a young cutting to a fruit-bearing plant, giving generously of one’s life force like the grapes at harvesttime, pulling back during cold, hard times, like the grapes in dormancy, only to resurge again, full of life, in the new season.
My mother grew up surrounded by opportunity. From a well-to-do family in the Midwest, my mother attended private schools and went to Stanford University. She went on to earn a master’s degree,
