The perfect combination of the changing of the calendar and a two day long snow storm have given me the incentive and time to reflect on the past year and day dream about the coming year. Simply, it was a terrific year. Sure there were challenges and dramas that TNT and Lifetime could make shows about, but there were a lot more happy, joyful, silly “nothing” moments that Seinfeld would cherish. I am thankful for a year full of highlights:

 

-          Shopping with the ladies for Pop the Cork outfits. Janice quickly settling on chic and elegant; Abby thoughtfully choosing a long sleeved royal purple gown which complemented her sparkling eyes perfectly; CC girlishly wearing a dress and accessories and fussing with her hair; Jasie getting the lady at Four Twelve to surrender a striped sensation that had been set aside for a fashion show; Megan accessorizing everyone…

- Matt sharing his stories with our guests of his travels cross-country with Blue Lobster Blue

            - Sinter Klaas and Piet coming to visit the Christmas cooking class; Dorothea singing Dutch songs; and Lawrence, the Texas born, French trained chef preparing Dutch treats in the shapes of lobsters, lighthouses, and moose (put it on your calendar for next year – most fun ever)

            - The Mid Coast Community Chorus filling the Villa with joyful Christmas notes

- Our “squirrels”, Tim & Daryl, promoting themselves to “The Cleaners”

- Janice being Janice every day

- Raymond becoming RayRay and still hiring the talented chef who started the whole thing

- Abby increasingly wanting to be with our guests in the tasting rooms and at events and involved in the craziness of event planning

- Aaron being A-Ron, and a few other characters, including talented workaholic winemaker

- Brian saying “so that’s my job here”

- The caricature artist capturing my friend Jeff’s personality just right

- CC literally bouncing around the Villa during Jingle Bell Rockport, hugging guests, and absolutely gushing on about our upcoming cooking classes and 2010 wines. 

- The thank you notes from our guests piling up on my desk. I treasure each one.

- Hosting the Juice investor reception – there was a special energy in the barn that night

- Frequently hearing guests say “the wines are better”

- Enjoying an evening by the ocean in Kennebunkport

- Tim and our friend Brian discussing satin underwear, seriously

- Denise and I together hosting the tasting bar during VinFest

- Daryl saying how much he just loves working with us

- Enjoying a few stolen minutes in the Adirondack chairs with CC and Janice

- Lani driving by just at the right moment to capture me driving the forklift in a cute summery dress

- Our Blueberry Hike Rake and Bake Cooking class students proudly hiking to the blueberry barren

- Mom fluffing and folding table cloths with me in the tent for Pop the Cork (and having no proof of how horrid we looked in the rain storm the next day)

- Winning huge brownie points from my nephew for rescuing Flat Stanley from the freezing cold waters around the Rockland Breakwater

- Not burning my hair off, not burning down the farmhouse (funny in hind sight)

- Linden Frederick, the acclaimed painter, offering us his painting “Halloween” for our first Artist Series wine. And actually having a wine that deserved such an honor.

- Lani’s gleeful screams echoing through the vineyard as she zipped down the snowy hill behind the barn on her sled

- Maine Pro Musica playing Summerwind at VinFest. (That one was for Dad)

- Rejoicing with my Cellardoor family and friends on my birthday when the call finally came that my cancer wasn’t back

- Enjoying a deliciously messy burger at a picnic table in the sunshine

- Welcoming guests to the barn and Villa every day. We so enjoy hearing your stories

- Mending a friendship

- Having Kevin, Susan, Bob, Steve, Dan, Eric, and Jim take time out of their days to come to the MaineBiz event. You have no idea how much it meant to me.

- Having wonderful times with Gilbert, Lani, Ray Ray, Marcy, Mom, Katherine, Shelly, Henry, Max, Netty, Pat and the Cellardoor family

And now for 2010! Lots more opportunities for highlights. More cooking classes, samplings, events and most importantly, more new wines from our cellar. While there is planning and hopes for how the coming year goes, I am sure of only one thing. That we really don’t know what the coming year holds for all of us. But one thing is for sure, I definitely resolve to write more of the highlights down as we go along. I don’t want to forget a thing.

Happy New Year. I wish you a year full of highlights.

Bettina