Once upon a time, 

there was a mountain girl and an ocean boy.

They grew up wild and free in the 70's. The girl spent her days, climbing trees, cresting mountains, riding horseback, and swimming in cold mountain rivers. While the boy went spear fishing, raced BMX bikes, leaped off cliffs, and began to ferment anything that would sit still long enough.

The mountain girl became a geologist for a time, but travel and wine beckoned, and she could not resist. The ocean boy grew into a sommelier, a wine educator, and a garagiste winemaker with a passion for travel.

And one serendipitous day, in a wine bar in Monterey, the two did meet.

They talked of wine, whiskey, and travel. One sweet kiss, and in five short weeks they were engaged. Their adventure had begun, and with the sell of what little they owned, they had two round-the-world tickets and no return date.

When the internet was still young, and before social media was a twinkle in anyone's eye, the two adventured without an itinerary, allowing life to dictate direction. Hopping from country to country, and town to town, keen on learning all things fermented and food.

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Mid-adventure, while working in the wine cellars at Esk Valley Winery in New Zealand, on an autumn day in May, they wed. Standing barefoot in the Malbec terraces above the sea, with glasses of wine in hand, and the vintage crew as witnesses, they said, "I do."

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Many months, places and memories later, the day came to return home. They landed at midnight in the San Francisco airport, waiting for bags to come popping up the carousel, hands intertwined, penniless and filled with the desire to make wine...

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The girl turned to the boy and said, “Let’s start our own winery."