A Labor of Love

farming sustainably together

While we were raised in vastly different environments, Joe in the dry heat of the Nevada desert and Karen in the rainy Willamette Valley, we both grew up with a deep appreciation and respect for Mother Earth. In the late 2000s, established in our careers and living in Salem, we found ourselves yearning for the rural life of our childhoods and dreaming of land that could be passed on to our grandchildren.

Together, we found a perfect hill with stunning views, an oak wood, and a two-acre pond. There was a catch, however: The land’s thin, sedimentary soils wouldn’t allow for any crops to grow — except grapes. And so, with the purchase of this special hill, we restored the land and planted a vineyard, demonstrating our love for the place, each other, and our family by farming the land sustainably and preserving its diverse natural habitat.

The neighboring wildlife refuge and our own restoration endeavors have happily contributed to the ever-growing population of birds and other wildlife at Andante Vineyard. We are particularly taken by the great egrets, who fly in from the surrounding area to roost above our pond. These beautiful birds, which were hunted almost to extinction for their white feathers, are so precious to us that we adopted their silhouette for our winery logo. To us, they represent the resilience and majesty of nature and remind us of our duty as stewards of the land.