Don't Order What You Can't Eat

Going out to eat was always a big deal. It was a treat to go into town to celebrate a monumental birthday with the whole family or a victorious ball game with the team at Foster's Freeze. I can still taste those crinkle-cut fries and softy frosties. These are some of my fondest childhood memories.

We especially loved going out to dinner with the Grandparents down in Escondido. They would always say, "Order whatever you want." Followed by one of the parental units saying,

"Don't order what you can't eat."

My modus operandi was to go with the former suggestion and load up, as this was a directive from on high ... from The Grandparents. The problem was, as prophesied, I usually wasn't able to finish my food, leaving a quarter to half of the plate untouched. But I always managed to smuggle the unwanted portion unnoticed to a dog under the table or into a cleverly placed napkin. That way, you see, I was still offered a sundae -  with full honors!

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I have always been inclined to take on "too much", aim "too high", set lofty goals and dig myself into tunnels with no real escape plan. I have faith in well-intentioned ambition, self reliance and willful overindulgence with regard to an individual's perception of their purpose. I'd be blind to suggest that this is always healthy, as we see overwhelming evidence of toxic ambition, greed and vanity on the rise in America and all around the world.

With regard to Ledge and the Adams Ranch Vineyard, my wife and I venture into the intimidating world of wealthy wine growers with measured optimism, gratitude and vision, keeping our program simple, focused, respectful, sustainable and with a steady eye on the cherry at the top of life's sundae: love and family.

With practically no budget whatsoever, we planted fifteen acres of own rooted cuttings on a sandy ledge and are growing nuanced wines with unique personalities that vary dramatically from their cousins in the same area and of the same varietals. In many ways we have ordered more than we can eat, but we maintain that we don't have to conquer the wine world in one sitting, if at all.

We are deeply grateful to those who have joined our allocation list and to the many professional critics who have written glowing reviews of our wines. You are all helping us nibble away at what many have said was an impossible order to finish. We have already gotten there, we aren't going anywhere and drop us a line if you'd like to make an appointment to taste the wines. 
 

May I be excused?  

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