If John MacCready, owner/winemaker at Sierra Vista, had not been so doggone nice, I might never have embarked on this journey.
The idea was so simple: "How about going to visit a few wineries that are within driving distance of Lake Tahoe?" suggested my supportive and enthusiastic editor, Katherine Hill of The Tahoe Weekly. She'd taken a chance on a gung-ho blogger who'd approached her at a lakeside cocktail party, and made space in the newspaper for a wine column. Then she gave me free rein to write about whatever I wanted... so long as it fit in 600 words.
Katherine is one of the most talented editors I've had the privilege to work with. She gave me ideas to start...this wine bar, that restaurant with a good wine list, this wine shop, that wine-pouring charity event, and then, nearby wineries.
I can't remember how I chose Sierra Vista, but I think that one of my friends in the wine business mentioned that John MacCready was one of the pioneers of the last 30 years in grapegrowing and winemaking in the Sierra Foothills, that he was knowledgeable, and that he shared his information gladly.
All true.
It was a wonderful interview. It was difficult to condense all the information to a mere 600 words; in fact, it was impossible, but I had an obligation to my editor.
So it happened: I was hooked on the Sierra Foothills winery scene.
