by Kathleen Hill/Index-Tribune Food and Wine Editor Aug 15, 2013 - 04:25 PM Kathleen Hill
Known as a family- and dog-oriented winery, Larson Family Winery just gave more and more, again.
On Monday, we celebrated and dedicated the new vineyard at Valley of the Moon Children’s Home. As the ChaChas garden coordinator, I asked Becky Larson, whose staff and vineyard crew have been an enormous help with educational vineyards at Adele Harrison Middle School and Sonoma Valley High School, if they would like to contribute even more. Becky’s answer was, “We would love too!”
Larson vineyardist Isidro Corona and crew pruned the long-untended old vines at the Children’s Home last year in hopes that they might produce something. It mostly didn’t work. So they pulled out the old vines and planted 100 zinfandel vines, all donated by Sam Caselli of NovaVine, who also gave our whole vineyard of vines at Adele Harrison on Broadway.
As her senior project, Becky and Tom Larson’s daughter, Erica, coordinated all of the donations, i.e. talked everyone into giving what they had to give and did a masterful job. She also got Vineyard Industry Products to donate 100 new t-posts for the vineyard.
In front of many polite and enthusiastic Children’s Home residents Monday morning, Erica pointed out that the soil is very good for grapes, the vines will produce in three years and will be fully matured in five to seven years. “Isidro and his crew and VOMCC garden staff will maintain the vineyards. Some day the hope is to make wine from the grapes. One-hundred vines should yield a ton of grapes or 60 cases of wine. The money raised will go to (ChaChas’) programs for the children.” Isidro guided the children on a tour of the vineyard and explained the whole growing process in both English and Spanish. Thank you all.
Known as a family- and dog-oriented winery, Larson Family Winery just gave more and more, again.
On Monday, we celebrated and dedicated the new vineyard at Valley of the Moon Children’s Home. As the ChaChas garden coordinator, I asked Becky Larson, whose staff and vineyard crew have been an enormous help with educational vineyards at Adele Harrison Middle School and Sonoma Valley High School, if they would like to contribute even more. Becky’s answer was, “We would love too!”
Larson vineyardist Isidro Corona and crew pruned the long-untended old vines at the Children’s Home last year in hopes that they might produce something. It mostly didn’t work. So they pulled out the old vines and planted 100 zinfandel vines, all donated by Sam Caselli of NovaVine, who also gave our whole vineyard of vines at Adele Harrison on Broadway.
As her senior project, Becky and Tom Larson’s daughter, Erica, coordinated all of the donations, i.e. talked everyone into giving what they had to give and did a masterful job. She also got Vineyard Industry Products to donate 100 new t-posts for the vineyard.
In front of many polite and enthusiastic Children’s Home residents Monday morning, Erica pointed out that the soil is very good for grapes, the vines will produce in three years and will be fully matured in five to seven years. “Isidro and his crew and VOMCC garden staff will maintain the vineyards. Some day the hope is to make wine from the grapes. One-hundred vines should yield a ton of grapes or 60 cases of wine. The money raised will go to (ChaChas’) programs for the children.” Isidro guided the children on a tour of the vineyard and explained the whole growing process in both English and Spanish. Thank you all.