SEPTEMBER 28, 2009

         Hello, welcome to my webpage.  When I was born in January 2007, I didn’t know that I would grow up to have so many responsibilities.  Oh, I’m sorry let me introduce myself – I am Lili (pronounced Lil – ee).  I am a Labradoodle (Lab/Standard Poodle mix) and I pretty much oversee everything that goes on at Brooks Hill Winery, the little winery up the hill.  Everything except the winemaking, I leave that to Butch our winemaker, and Mike.

            My humans, Mike and Karen, brought me to Louisville in March 2007; I was 8 weeks old.  It took me a couple of days to adjust to my new home.  I don’t remember the first day I came to the winery but, I do remember it didn’t look like a very nice place to me.  I tried to ignore how it looked and just run and romp and play.  However, it soon became apparent to me that, if we were ever going to get this dream of Mike’s off the ground, I was definitely going to have to start taking charge of the place.  Anyway that is when I started supervising clean-up and construction and before you knew it we were opening our doors in September 2007.  It was a chore but we did it, and on September 15, 2009 celebrated our 2^nd anniversary!

            I know I usually update you on what has been going on with the winery but, I just can’t wait to tell you what a fun spring and summer I have had!  We hosted concerts, rehearsal dinners, wedding receptions and family reunions at the winery.  Our free concerts included Gary Sanders; Bluestown twice, Mother Jane and Elvis tribute artist Todd Bodenheimer.  All of these artists were terrific musicians and the humans who were in attendance loved them.  Mike’s son Tim opened for Mother Jane, who knew he had such a sweet singing voice?  Trust me, the music was great but, WOW, the food these humans bring is spectacular!!!  I managed to make it to every table and, much to Mike and Karen’s chagrin, received some of the tastiest morsels of food ever!  I was able to work this same magic at the rehearsal dinners, wedding receptions and family reunions.  By the end of each of these festivities I was completely full and content! Karen now has me on a diet.  Darn it!

            It was exciting to meet some of the four legged members of the family at the reunions!  I have known Sam and Riley for quite a while but I met Baxter and another Riley.  Funny thing about fellows named Riley – they just don’t seem to like me too much!!  Baxter however was a wild man!!  You would have thought he owned the vineyard the way he was running around – I could hardly keep up with him!!!  It is always fun to have someone to play with at the vineyard.  Sam has been up a couple of times – I just love him!!  When he leaves we are both exhausted. 

We are preparing for the Fall and Holiday seasons at BHW.  The vines are getting ready for their winter’s nap, the leaves are putting on spectacular colors and the smell of Fall is in the air.  BHW is really beautiful this time of year and Mike and I love to sit out in the cool crisp air and take in all of its beauty!  It is our favorite season of the year!

            While Fall is a time for harvest and for gathering together, it is also a time for us to release some new wines.  Butch has some wonderful new BHW wines for release this Fall season.  There is “Roe Hill Red” a wonderful dry red wine; Riesling and Vidal which are both semi-dry white wines; there is Strawberry Wine which will be a sweet wine and finally Sweet Martyne – named for Karen’s mother - will be our new sweet red wine. 

            Anyway I hope that you will come to Brooks Hill Winery to see me real soon!  I love meeting new humans and seeing familiar ones as well.  I will meet you when you come in the door and maybe while you are enjoying a bottle of our wine you will pause to take a walk in our beautiful vineyard or hike through the woods.  I have some new pictures for you to look at below.