Oh, You Animal, You!
If you have visited many wineries, you have noticed one thing….animals! So many
wineries have animals!
Some greet you at your car, others great you on the way up the driveway,
while yet others pretend to ignore you in the tasting room.
I began my winery career with two dogs to keep me company. My first “wine” job
was at Autumn Wind Vineyards (now Patricia Green Cellars). I was just starting
Northwest Wine Tours (which later became Adventures in Wine). I saw an ad in the
Oregon Wine Magazine for tasting room help and I applied. After several
interviews, I was hired along with Jim Anderson (who left the winery after
a year to go to Torii Mor, only to return in 2001 to purchase the property with
biz partner Patty Green.)
On my first day, I not only met Peg, another tasting room staffer, I met Frank
and Cujo. Frank (short for Franklin) was a Great White Pyrenees, while Cujo was
a mixed breed dog. Poor Cujo, she suffered a bit from her name. One day two
women came in with a little girl. The little girl wanted to pet the dogs. “Mom”
told her that would be fine, and then asked, “what is the dogs name?” When I
replied “Cujo”, I thought the poor lady was going to spit wine through her nose.
It was humorous. The owners of Autumn Wind, Tom and Wendy, found her while
camping. Her mother, who looked to be ill, brought the puppy to them and left.
They named her Cujo as she was “from the wild.”
Frank and Cujo knew their limits at the winery. They were not allowed to come
into the winery building. Now, mind you, on warm/hot days, the dogs wanted
shade…yet they were not allowed into the winery. Cujo had figured out where the
shade was as well as her water bowl. Frank on the other hand, knew the same, but
in a different way. He would lay inside the winery with on leg sticking out the
door. I guess he was telling us “Hey, I am not totally inside!”
When Patty Green moved on to the property, she brought her two cats with her. To
my knowledge, Vinnie is still there. Affectionately known as Mr. Vinners, he even
has a song, trust me, you do not want to hear any of us sing it….well..perhaps
after a Martini or two at Tina’s in Dundee! And yes, we did dress Vinnie up with
Reindeer antlers for his first Thanksgiving on the property.
Prior to Lange Winery building their tasting room, tastings were done in the Lange
family’s “family room”. The sign, as you parked, said “Valet Barking by Archie”.
He was joined by Daphne (his daughter) and Hannah. The newest of the canine team
is a golden retriever named Maggie.
These beautiful dogs would greet you the moment you drove up. Sadly, Archie has
gone on to “doggie heaven”. He was honored with a wine named for him as well as
a T-shirt that simply must be a collectors item by now. I still have mine!
At Cooper Mountain, you would have found horses. They came to the fence to be
petted.
Belle Ponte, oh how I remember one of my first visits to Belle Ponte.
They had goats. Sweet little goats. On the way up the drive, we saw these
lovely animals. I rolled down the window…and they followed the car. I leaned
out and made “baaahhh” sounds. They responded. It was too funny!
While in California, I visited Rabbit Ridge in Sonoma County. They had this HUGE
cat. The tasting room employee told me that the cat hated everyone. Hmph, this
20+ pound animal adored me and made me (yes made me) hold him/her while I tasted
wines. I must say that a tasty Zin is a tasty Zin with or without essence of
cat fur!
An organization in Australia is so “head over heels” for their winery dogs that
they have created a website where you can order books and calendars! They refer
to the Wine Dogs as “Woofers”. The book has photos of dogs from over 150 wineries
and includes essays about dogs.
In Italy, Guido Mascioni, owner of Villa Trasqua, has a unique “dog”. The dog is
actually a horse! Obelix is a pure white horse who stands 17 hands high. Guido
loves his horse who can often be found in the cellar and yes, even poking is nose
into the kitchen of the house. This horse simply knows that he is part of the
family. Now, THAT'S a winery pet!
Winery pets come in all shapes and sizes. Next time you are out touring wineries,
check out the pets as well!
Until next time,
Cheers!
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