Today, his wife and children stay involved with Chappellet vineyard and winery, making the venture truly a family one. In farming, the first thing you learn is that no two years are alike. In 1984, he and his wife purchased vineyard property in Amador County, east of Sacramento. My wife thought that we were buying an 'acre of hobby grapes,' as she called them, but she soon found out that I had bigger plans in mind. In 1999, the Gullets bottled their Vino Noceto wines for the first time in their own winery.
Experimentation is also key to selecting wines to drink.
Try two different wines, or even different vintages of the same wine, with a meal, these vintners suggest. More than two wines, however, will only confuse your taste buds. Gradually, you'll develop an appreciation for what good wines are. Campbell made his way to winemaking through a circuitous route from Claremont and Pomona College, through three years in a Zen Buddhist community, finally to a vineyard on northern California's Sonoma Mountain. Wine critics are the worst thing that's happened to winemaking.