Approaching Sabbatical

I can’t believe that I have been blogging and making wine for nine years. It started as a way to memorialize my favorite wine moments. Since then, I have written about a hundred wines - red, white, rosé, orange, still, sparkling, dry, and sweet. I posted about my adventures to famous wine regions as far as Burgundy, Champagne, and Tuscany and as close as my second home in Walla Walla, Washington. I have blogged about my own winemaking experience; from crush, press, different types of fermentation, yeast, and oak to the meanings behind pH, TA, RS, H2S, and SO2. I have also opined on wine fads, wine pairing, wine hacks, wine gadgets, and other wine-related topics.

Blind tasting

As I blogged and made wine, I learned new things. When certain finer details slipped my memory, I would revisit my posts and relearn. My blog became my personal treasure trove, shared lovingly in the interwebs. From pondering, writing, and editing the monthly posts, I practiced self-discipline. From the annual grape harvest in the fall through the winter months, I practiced the rigor of winemaking. The one thing missing in these nine years is a break from the routine of blogging and winemaking - a sabbatical of sorts.

First crush with Alisa

Over Christmas, I hung out with a friend who teaches at a local university. In fact, Alisa and I made our first vintage in 2016. As a college professor, she is no stranger to sabbaticals and spoke about the benefits of the intentional extended break in routine to reinvigorate and recharge her in the classroom afterwards. While a common practice among academics and a few other professions, the concept of sabbatical is actually rooted in the Mosaic time. Leviticus 23 verses 1-5 read (New International Version):

The LORD said to Moses at Mount Sinai, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land that I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. For six years sow your field, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.

Harvest

One of my favorite books on devotionals is Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva Dawn. In her book, Dawn combined Jewish traditions and biblical teaching in the practice of sabbath. Rather than a Pharisaic legalistic imposition of do’s and don’ts on Sabbath, the author invited her readers to consider four aspects of observing sabbath. These include:

1. Ceasing work, productivity, accomplishment, anxiety, worry, tension, our attempts to be God, our possessions, our enculturation, and humdrum and meaninglessness. 
2. Resting spiritually, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and socially.
3. Embracing Christian values, with intention, time instead of space, giving instead of requiring, our calling, wholeness, and the world.
4. Feasting on the eternal, with music, with beauty, with food, and with affection

As you can tell, I believe my time to take a “sabbatical” from blogging and winemaking has come. 2025 is going to be a year of ceasing from blogging and winemaking and resting from this labor of love. I look forward to embracing the gift of time and energy as well as feasting in other areas of beauty. Perhaps I will read more, garden more, cook more, create more memories with loved ones, and reflect more on the God who once turned water into wine at a wedding. Perhaps this intentional break from the routine will also bring new perspective, new ideas, and a new plan for the future.

Until then, cin cin for the new year, and meet you back here in 2026.