This page was inspired by the book called Secrets of the Vine by Bruce Wilkinson One of my good friends on the net told me about this book at a time I really needed to hear about it. I had just been through a rough year dealing with many life issues involving my family and myself. At the time that this book was mentioned, I was in the process of having my house re-painted and finalizing the registration of a women's retreat. My work was keeping me very busy also. Though I was spending time reading my Bible, I wasn't spending as much quiet time with God that I really needed. So I knew I had to go out and get the book. Why? Because my friend told me about a part that said we need to abide in Christ. To abide means to remain. It is an ongoing process.

Once I started the book, I could not put it down.I know that God was speaking to me through this book. I realized that a lot of what I was going through was pruning. And it is not an easy process. The book explained the process that takes place in a vineyard. As I was reading this book, I remember my sister inviting me to Callaway Wineries where she give tours.I thought, wow, I would love to go see the actual vineyard to get a visual of what I was reading.

Well on July 13, we got to visit the Callaway Winery.I was real proud of my sister and she really knows her job well. She was off work that day but was nice enough to give us a private tour. We learned how the vineyards are taken care of. It takes a plant 5 years before a plant can give fruit that is good enough for the harvest. We saw a baby vine and we named her Denise!

We learned about the harvesting of the grapes and how the white wine grapes are harvested differently from the red wine grapes. White wine is ready before the red wine grapes. White wine grapes have the skins removed before they are crushed. Red wine grapes keep the skins on. The juice of the wines sit in these large metal storage containers that are kept chilled for about 24 hours. Then yeast is added to the juice to start the fermenting process. My sister told us it is a special yeast that eats the sugars in the grapes and that causes the grapes to ferment. To learn more about the whole process, you can visit the Callaway Coastal Web PageAfter the tour, Terry took us to see the mature vines with fruit on it. This was real exciting for us. We now had a visual picture of what we had been reading. We were talking on how it must have been for Jesus to be explaining this to His disciples. We could just imagine being with Him there. You can read the whole passage found in John 15 1-11

Here is a picture of the vineyard. The new plants are in the front. A disease called Pierce destroyed many of the crops and they had to be removed and new ones planted. Some of the mature crops in the valley are 30-35 years old. Plants can grow up to 75 years with good tender loving care.

Here you see some new vines.I named the one on the right Denise, that is growing quickly! The containers are to help them grow upright. They are watered by a drip irrigation system that allows the roots to take in water, but keep the leaves dry so that they don't get mold or fungus. The Temecula Valley produces special grapes because of the hot days and cool nights. The mountains seen at the distance are a part of the Cleveland National Forrest. The Pacific ocean is about 25 miles beyond, and that is where the cool breezes come from, pulled in by the dessert which is east of the Temeucla Vally. This pulling process is known as the rainbow bridge. Great weather, great wine!

Here we stand in front of the large refrigerated containers
where the grapes begin fermentation. White wines are made here.

The red and pink wines are fermented here in the the oak and cedar barrels.
The wood gives the wine it's aroma and body. I was thinking how wonderful
the wine was that Jesus turned water into wine for a wedding.

Here we are learning how to taste the wines. We learned how to check the color, smell the wine, spin the wine in the glass to bring out the flavor and then taste it. There is so much to learn. Terry poured several types and we only had to take a taste, then pour it into the silver container. Then we used the green bottles to rinse out our glass and try another variety of wine. There was red, rose, white and dessert wine. And there was fresh hot garlic loaves nearby reminding us that it was time to have lunch. So we went very easy on the tasting!We all plan to go back and read our books again with great pictures
in our heads and the spirit will do the rest! Thank you Terry,I love you!

Dear Father God, thank you so much for bringing this wonderful day to pass.
Thank you for bringing Tammy safely
to California from Missouri, thanks to Doralee for hosting
her. Thank you Father for Terry and using her to teach us
about the ancient art of wine making. Thank you Father
for the beauty we can still enjoy, blue skies, warm sun,
the birds that hunt and the farmworkers that tend and keep
the vineyards. Thanks for the blessings you give us each day.
In Jesus precious name, Amen!



The vine dresser is never nearer the vine than when He is pruning it.-- Anonymous

















Midi is Change My Heart O God

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