In the spirit of the season, here is a tale about a witch, some wine and better understanding of both of them.

In The Land of Possibilities, there lived a very lonely witch named Katolena. The people of the land treated the witch kindly, but kept her at arms length, because after all, she was a witch! So, because of this preconceived notion that all witch’s are evil, Katolena was always an outlier in society. When she would go for a walk, people would cross to the other side of the street to avoid her.

Another strike against the witch was that she was a Deadhead. She loved the Grateful Dead rock band, and was often heard singing along with the band, and performing some questionable dance moves while she was grooving out to the band’s tunes. Such music was a bad influence on the young folks, said of course, the parents and elders of the community.

A few years ago a young couple moved to The Land of Possibilities, bought some acreage and planted grape stock with which to make wine. It was their dream to grow, harvest, make and treat the community to some delicious wines — a dream that was coming to fulfillment this year because the first harvest of grapes was hanging on the vines waiting to be picked.

The young vintners enlisted a number of neighbors to help pick the grapes, and then they would teach their new pickers how to properly harvest and to help make the wines. Everyone was excited to begin the harvest — including Katolena even though she wasn’t asked to help with the process. She watched the vineyards mature, and without the young couples knowing it, she had watched over the vines at night. Those nocturnal varmints or bugs weren’t going to harm these young folks!

The first day of harvesting dawned bright and beautiful. The people assembled at the vineyard and stood patiently waiting for the young vintners to appear. They did not arrive, and soon folks were getting worried. One of the group went to the couple’s house, knocked on the door and discovered the young vintners were very sick. They wouldn’t be able to guide the picking crew, and who would know how to make the wine? Things were looking bleak and bad in The Land of Possibilities until the witch slowly walked into the vineyard listening to the Grateful Dead through her ear buds.

The people were shocked and scared. They began to move away until Katolena smiled upon them, and in a mild voice informed the group she could help them. What? A witch help us? At first, the group shied away from her, but soon, one by one, they were won over by her intriguing charm. Not only that, but that music she now played on a speaker was quite enticing. With reserved smiles and some swinging to the music’s beats, they listened as the witch taught them how to pick the grapes and bring them to the barn for fermenting and processing.

The day progressed with people not only getting to know the vineyard, but also Katolena. As the last bunch of grapes was picked, people celebrated by dancing in the vineyard to the witches music. Then, with Katolena teaching them, the excitement grew as they all went into the barn to make wine,

The young couple watched from their bedroom’s window as the grapes were harvested and the wine making process begin. Their hearts grew in size that day.

The first batch of grapes were made into a Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon with the name of Grateful Dead. It featured dark cherries, cloves and a touch of vanilla. The people began to see the witch in the wine — a bit dark but a soft agreeable touch to her, too.

Next on Katolena’s wine list was a red blend — like Apothic Dark. The newly taught vintners were in awe of the witch. She knew so much and was so interesting. Again, the blend reflected the witch with its heavy raspberry tastes that were laced with notes of sweet chocolate and coffee. How could one not enjoy this witch … I mean this wine?

Then, the witch pulled a spooking surprise on them. She waved her wand over a batch and a beautiful light red wine began to appear. People enjoyed sampling the rosé and compared it to an

Apothic Rosé with its crisp refreshing tastes, but, there was a dark side to the wine that people couldn’t explain. The witch smiled and remarked that the wine was like getting to know someone. Don’t be afraid of them — talk with them — walk with them and dance with them.

With that bit of witchy wisdom, the group raised their glasses in salute to a new beginning in The Land of Possibilities, and the young couple danced in their bedroom to the sounds of the Grateful Dead.

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!