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Not a big fan of America Magazine for obvious reasons but I thought this was actually a good article, I could definitely relate to it, and best of all they gave a shoutout to the Trappist monastery nearby (Abbey of New Clairvaux). It's a longer article about how intimately woven into the faith wine and winemaking are, from the many references to it in scripture to the processes itself always being so closely associated with the faith and salvation history.
For me personally I think that explains at least in part where I've always felt a desire to at least be a hobby winemaker. My dad grew up on a vineyard in the Napa Valley so winemaking found it's way into my family's DNA and I just see such a grace and dignity to it all. I have a small dream that's sort of on the back burner right now, to maybe convert the decaying 20-acre almond orchard my grandpa planted in the 1960s into a vineyard. He died in 1976, and once my grandma remarried 10 years later her second husband abused the land and continues to do so today. The orchard is rotting out, and he's treated a couple acres of the property like a landfill with useless junk piled up. She passed away in 2020 so he's in control of everything now. So God willing, he won't rob us of our inheritance, and then I hope to maybe tear out the dying almond trees and plant maybe a Spanish varietal of wine. Not sure if I'd actually build out a winery on the property too or if I'd just rather sell the grapes to New Clairvaux in support of their mission, but either way I would enjoy putting that together.
Here's the article if you're interested:
www.americamagazine.org
For me personally I think that explains at least in part where I've always felt a desire to at least be a hobby winemaker. My dad grew up on a vineyard in the Napa Valley so winemaking found it's way into my family's DNA and I just see such a grace and dignity to it all. I have a small dream that's sort of on the back burner right now, to maybe convert the decaying 20-acre almond orchard my grandpa planted in the 1960s into a vineyard. He died in 1976, and once my grandma remarried 10 years later her second husband abused the land and continues to do so today. The orchard is rotting out, and he's treated a couple acres of the property like a landfill with useless junk piled up. She passed away in 2020 so he's in control of everything now. So God willing, he won't rob us of our inheritance, and then I hope to maybe tear out the dying almond trees and plant maybe a Spanish varietal of wine. Not sure if I'd actually build out a winery on the property too or if I'd just rather sell the grapes to New Clairvaux in support of their mission, but either way I would enjoy putting that together.
Here's the article if you're interested:
New Clairvaux Vineyard in Northern California is a good example of successful Catholic winemaking today. In 1955, the Abbey of Gethsemani purchased a plot of land to begin a new monastery. The land was purchased from a former governor of California, Leland Stanford, who had established 4,000 acres of grapes and a winery that produced over two million gallons a year prior to Prohibition. Stanford sold off the land in 1919, and the vines were ripped out.
But in 2000, at the prodding of a neighbor, the Cistercian monks pivoted from dairy and orchard farming to plant their first six acres of grape vines on the land. “You know, we—the Cistercians—set the standard for ‘modern’ wine production at Citeaux,” Abbot Paul Mark Schwan reminded me in a conversation by phone of the order’s connection to medieval winemaking. “We’re very much aware of that connection.”
Today, the monks’ primary labor is working in the vineyard, but as in many Catholic apostolates, they partner with lay people, including Aimée Sunseri, a fifth-generation California winemaker.
And while it is heartening to see the church return to building up global wine culture, Abbot Paul Mark sees their efforts as a contribution to the larger mission of the church. He estimates 38,000 people visit the monastery each year. “Now, most people come because they are looking for wine,” he told me, “but it also becomes our way of evangelization. When people come, they know it’s more than just a bottle of wine. It’s as if they’re buying a kind of spirituality in a bottle.”
But in 2000, at the prodding of a neighbor, the Cistercian monks pivoted from dairy and orchard farming to plant their first six acres of grape vines on the land. “You know, we—the Cistercians—set the standard for ‘modern’ wine production at Citeaux,” Abbot Paul Mark Schwan reminded me in a conversation by phone of the order’s connection to medieval winemaking. “We’re very much aware of that connection.”
Today, the monks’ primary labor is working in the vineyard, but as in many Catholic apostolates, they partner with lay people, including Aimée Sunseri, a fifth-generation California winemaker.
And while it is heartening to see the church return to building up global wine culture, Abbot Paul Mark sees their efforts as a contribution to the larger mission of the church. He estimates 38,000 people visit the monastery each year. “Now, most people come because they are looking for wine,” he told me, “but it also becomes our way of evangelization. When people come, they know it’s more than just a bottle of wine. It’s as if they’re buying a kind of spirituality in a bottle.”
Our Spiritual Drink: A History of Wine and the Catholic Church
How the Catholic Church—from Jesus to Dom Perignon to modern monks—has helped perfect the art of winemaking
www.americamagazine.org
