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Potter Productions, Inc.

What goes on at a small winery during the winter months? If you think it’s a slow time of year, you may be in for a surprise. From the director: I wanted to do something on wine. But here it was, January. I missed those plump juicy grapes by months. But hold on, isn’t that what I usually see when it comes to wineries: the harvest and the crush? Then wonder set in. What exactly does a winery do in the winter months? I had images of roaring fires, cold toes getting warmed, and mugs of hot cocoa being passed around. Sounded cozy to me. Lynn Penner-Ash was game for me to make a visit and document what actually did transpire during a ‘typical’ winter day. It turned out the biggest challenge for the shoot was to accept the fact that the sun was not going to burn off the dense fog. As luck would have it, the day before was partly sunny, with a nice view of the snowy mountains. As I drove down into the valley that January morning, I entered near zero visibility. But, I was hopeful that in a few hours the fog would lift, and the crisp blue skies would appear, like magic. But, alas, it was winter, and the valley was socked in for the duration of the day. As Lynn led us into the vineyard, calling du jac, I began seeing the vines winter beauty in a new way. —Rebecca Gerendasy