I am not a sappy guy, but this always brings a tear to my eye.

As a winemaker, I am often asked how I got into this business. Many of you know that Maria and I met in graduate school and went to law school together. The germination of the seed to start a vineyard and winery in a place no one thought possible originated during our honeymoon visit to Napa Valley in 1994 when we looked up at the sky between rows of vines and said, “Why doesn’t someone do this in Wisconsin?”

Eleven years later in 2005 the first vine was planted at Parallel 44 and the journey commenced. But this does not really answer why we pursued this dream that many considered crazy while others considered bold and pioneering.

Well, the answer can best be summed up emotionally with a commercial that you can view on YouTube entitled Ernest & Julio Gallo Wine Classic TV Commercial 1986. Many consider this the greatest wine commercial ever produced, and I would agree as I remember it today like it was yesterday even though that was nearly 40 years ago.

There is virtually no dialogue to the commercial. It consists of slow-motion images of couple after couple walking down church staircases and celebrating large family weddings. It is the kind of imagery and music I would suspect plays through one’s mind during your final moments of your life.

It is the summation and culmination of everything we hold near and dear in our lives. The feeling depicted in this commercial sums up my love and fascination with wine. Not only does this commercial take my back to our wedding day in May of 1994, it also sums up what I want you to enjoy in wine.

And as the words conclude in the commercial, “All the Best!”