A Vineyard Garden – Molly Chappellet (1)

Redi-mix cement Water Pure pigments: sienna, raw umber, black Stick about the size of a pencil Interestingly shaped grapevine, including part of trunk Large metal or glass pie plate Mix half a bucket of cement with a little water and brown and black pigments. Stir colors well. Adjust color to match trunk of grapevine. Holding vine upright in the middle of pie plate, pour colored cement around the base, up to about 3 inches from bottom of trunk. Begin forming the cement with your hands into root-like fingers, as it sets up quickly.

Keep forming the shape until firm. Immediately comb with stick or your fingertips to simulate trunk’s texture. After cement has thoroughly set, gently twist long cane (the arm that comes off the trunk of the vine) into a rhythmic pattern. Decorating with grapes is optional. Each year, when the harvest ends, I try to reflect on some of the extra pleasures of growing grapes: the sheer beauty of living in the middle of a vineyard, with its ever-changing magnificent visual displays; the wonderful feeling of being part of American agriculture, of growing something useful; and the gift of being able to carry what we grow to a beautiful conclusion—wine.

When I think about these pleasures, I remember something Hugh Johnson wrote: For all the style and glamour of its market image, its roots are in the earth… Wine is one of the miracles of nature, and… its 10,000 years of partnership with man has not removed that element of mystery, that independent life that alone among all our foods has made men think of it as divine. f we were just selling our grapes, we might prune and feed and water to produce a larger crop.

However, since our concern is not with tonnage but with producing the most intensely flavorful grape, our viticultural practices and choice of soil, mountainside, rootstock, and fruiting wood are critical. Bradley Ogden, chef/owner of Lark Creek Inn, at work in the vineyard. From the time of budbreak to the moment of harvest, every aspect of the weather—heat, rain, wind, fog—affects that vintage. This is why no two vintages are exactly alike.

Two extreme examples come to mind— 1976 and 1982. Nineteen seventy-six was a drought year.

n 1967, Molly Chappellet and her husband moved to the rugged country of the Napa Valley with the intention of making a world- class wine. While Chappellet wines are now counted among the world’s finest, Molly Chappellet has at the same time acquired a formidable reputation as a gardener, landscaper, designer, cook, and entertainer of such guests as James Beard, Roger Vergé, Dinah Shore, Danny Kaye, and Craig Claiborne. All of those gifts have gone into this inspiring and visually enchanting book. Its 250 full-color photographs and nine magnificent paintings on silk by the author’s daughter depict the exquisite palette of Chappellet’s vineyard garden—with its woodlands, boulders, fields, vegetable plots, grapevines, cutting garden, and berry patches—along with the imaginative uses she has made of it.

The book includes recipes for dishes like chenin blanc sorbet, wild blackberry sandwiches, seeds and such bread, and forgotten torte. Also included are “recipes” for woodland potpourri, perfect compost, eye-popping centerpieces made from vegetables and other natural materials, and a seven- | minute “pick and put” floral bouquet. Throughout, the author shows how nature’s discards make the best ornaments, and how treasures from outdoors can bring life to a room. The author’s love of the earth and appre- ciation of nature’s gifts pervade this book.

More than just a practical collection of ideas, A Vineyard Garden shows how the author developed a very personal relationship with the land by living and working on a vineyard along with her six children. Many parallels are drawn between planting and parenting. In Chappellet’s words, “I now see the art of gardening as a volunteer exchange—a gift of work given freely and lovingly and compensated in generous measure.”

Above all, A Vineyard Garden is an invitation to the art of living well and simply, extended with warmth, unpretentious good taste, and a genuine sense of adventure. 1091 A VINEYARD GARDEN oO Z = < a A = ne ea) O Z = O es zo 3 BR a - = 8 oo ne 22 es Cre i.

a © < 2 =< 6 ne o 4 ecg oe siesesrs > <|20 ae ae i ae als co mo g lee 235 Soa" SB ZG Fens So ee O AQ : cae 2 : 4 I s ‘ - eae 4 VIKING STUDIO BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ, England Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Suite 300, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182-190 Wairau Road, Auckland 10, New Zealand Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England First published in 1991 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: edd7ceaa8a04ca92
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 65,417,592 bytes (62.387 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 067083436X
• Pages: 313
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 178.53 minutes
• Total Words: 35,707
• Total Characters: 213,563
• Average Words per Page: 114.08
• Average Characters per Page: 682.31

Most Frequent Words

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