Friends of Windfall winery

No venture, particularly one such as Windfall Winery which will donate all of its profits to charity, can get started without the support of many wonderful, generous people who either volunteered or provided their services at much reduced fees. I would like to acknowledge them here.

The Wine
I started making fruit wines in 1994 with my good friend Yates Lansing who long since turned his talents to creating wonderful sculptures of wood, bronze and concrete. Yates and I both grew more fruit than we could consume and Yates came up with the idea of turning the excess (hence Windfall Winery!) into wine. He also christened our Asian pear Wine "AP".

Until this year, the largest annual production of "AP" was 20 gallons. This year, we produced 6,200 gallons. This change in scale would not have been possible without the expertise of many wine professionals. First Ray Sandidge and then Sandra Wran, winemakers at Kestrel Vintners , helped locate supplies, taught me about winery equipment and procedures, and cared for the wine during my long absences. The staff at Kestrel was most accommodating. Kestrel produces outstanding red and white wines from estate grown grapes. You should visit their winery if you find yourself in Prosser, Washington.

The Label
The original idea for our label came from Sondra Bayley , an incredible artist/photographer in Friday Harbor, WA. Sondra transforms photographic images into original works of art. She also designs note cards which are now available for purchase.

Eileen Hu , a freelance graphic designer in Los Angeles, used the elements created by Sondra to create the actual label and also design our golden "AP" logo. Eileen worked with the printers to insure that the final product was as perfect as it could be.

Marketing
Our good friend Alice Acheson employed her immense talents as an editor to rewrite every piece of literature we have. She also generously shared her Rolodex of contacts in the publishing industry and is making sure the story of our wine gets out to the general press. Alice, her husband, Ed Greub, and Chris Pope, another board member of the San Juan Community Home Trust , spent three days helping my wife, Nancy and me fill, cork, label and pack wine. We set a new record for most bottles produced in a single day at the winery!

The web site was developed with the help of Bill Crisco at Digital Palette Studios . Bill and his brother Sam worked at a greatly reduced rate because they believe in our cause. The same applies to Tony Pignatiello of Bella Vita Wines, our Colorado distributor, who has agreed to place our wines in stores and restaurants without making a profit.

Finally, I want to thank my wife, Nancy Maron, who puts up with my many lengthy absences while I was engaged in this effort. Even when I am home, most of the time I am on the phone or at the computer trying to figure out this business. Nancy is a gifted painter and sculptor and we hope to have a website displaying her works up in the near future.