Just read an article by EstherMobley that BergamotAlley in Healdsburg is closing:
BergamotAlleyClosing .
This is dreadful news. Almost every time I'm up in Healdsburg, I hang out at BergamotAlley w/ some winemaker.
Several yrs ago, we were meeting up w/ SamBilbro to taste his new Idlewild releases. I noticed a WalterMassa Timarasso on the shelf. I told KevinWardell that I "happened" to have two other Timarassos out in my car & could we taste them all together. He was all for it. So we tasted thru three Timarassos at Bergamot w/ Sam & Kevin. Probably the largest tasting of Timarassos in Healdsburg that day. That was what got Sam excited about Timarasso. He will have the first Calif Timarasso (along w/ Steve Clifton) when it's released by FPS in the near future. Stay tuned. It's a grape they should be planting all up&down the Coast of Calif.
It will be interesting to see how Kevin and Sarah's next venture will unfold. One of their reason's for closing is that they have two small children at home. It never ceases to amaze me that many of these young winemakers have small children and how they are able to run a business/wnry and not miss out on their children growing up has got to be very stressful. Most of them realize that "the kids come first". But I know any number of winemakers that don't figure it out until it's too late and all of a sudden their kids have grown up. But I'm in awe of these folks like Kevin&Sarah/Jake/Sam/Meghan & Ryan/Molly&Jason/Mike&Kendall/Kim&Don/Larry/Bob.... a bunch of them, that realize that "the kids come first". A lesson we all need to learn.
Tom