Making distinguished wine requires patience, a wealth of good choices, and an eye on the far horizon rather than the near distance. When they’re properly cared for, grapevines can yield fruit for well over half a century. So, it’s a rare occasion when the Pisoni family decides it’s time to plant new vines.

For several years, the fallow soil has been carefully prepared and planted with cover crops. Once it’s time to plant, Mark and his crew prepare the rootstock and place them into the holes they’ve dug deep into the ground, then pack the soil tightly around the them. Soon the roots will dig deep into the hard earth in their search for water and nutrients.

Mark will begin harvesting the fruits of these young plants in four years. But he and his crew are not simply planting vines for that harvest. Rather, he is planting for the generations to come. Knowing that the vines he and his crew have so carefully nurtured will continue to bear fruit for harvests children and grandchildren will see makes the work of a few hours a lasting and momentous project.