Special Feature: Ted Osborne, Winemaker's Journal
Part 1 - Olabisi Winery
Ted Osborne
Introduction
Ted Osborne is a 42-year-old winemaker based in Napa Valley. Ted and his wife run Olabisi Winery, a boutique label of vineyard-designate, small production, hand-crafted wines. Years ago, I met Ted when a mutual acquaintance, Missouri native Sonny Thielbar, worked as a fellow winemaker at Olabisi.
I toured the vineyard, saw the hands-on process of winemaking and cleaning equipment, and visited big league wineries throughout the valley with Sonny to track down lots of grapes that Olabisi could purchase and process into wine later. Visiting with Sonny and Ted in the modest Osborne kitchen, I learned firsthand how much time, dedication, and knowledge is poured into the labor of winemaking. It's not about sitting idly by with a glass of Chardonnay in hand and waiting for the grapes to harvest the warmth of the sun and idiosyncratic qualities of the terroir. Having tasted several vintages of Olabisi wine myself, I know that the labor and skill of Osborne and his crew results in a product worth the time, money, hope, and anxiety invested into the fields of grapes, barrels of Missouri oak, and bottles of wine.
Producing fine wine requires knowledge of the land, craft learned over years, and a passion stoked over long days season after season. Incidentally, Olabisi is a name meaning "joy multiplied" or "brings joy." When Ted approached PresentMagazine.com about telling the story of harvest season from his perspective, I thought it would be a fresh approach for him to "bring the joy of the fields." Ted will share notes and photographs about his work as Olabisi's winemaker in this reoccuring special feature.
Cheers,
Pete Dulin
Editor
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