Stories from our founder series: Adventure

I looked at the empty bottle of one of our limited-edition wines, Arkats, sitting on the windowsill of my kitchen, and it struck me that on this very day in 2022 this bottle, among 500 others, was filled with new red wine at my winery. The wine was made at Stork Nest by a fellow winemaker who decided not to use it for reasons unrelated to its merits or quality. As I was around while it was being made, I grew fond of it and decided to buy it and bottle it myself.

As our team and I were busy bottling, I received a call from a local shop clerk. “That dog you were asking about the other day is here, in case you want to come and take him.” I bumped into this abandoned boy who looked lost and dishevelled but very dignified a few days prior, but he walked away. My friend and I jumped into the car and rushed to the store. The dog wasn’t there so I started asking around and finally saw him standing in a nearby garage, being ignored by the mechanics working on cars. I got closer to him with some teats consumed in a quick succession, opened my arms, lifted this 30 kg German Shorthair Pointer and carried him to the car.

Through a short journey back to my place he sat obediently on my lap, not sure what to make of what was happening to him, but he must have figured that it was a good thing. He walked into my house where my colleagues who were working in the kitchen greeted him and, in a few minutes, as I sat on my veranda with a glass of wine in my hand, Ashoun (Armenian for autumn, as he was christened by my wife a few days later) walked up to me, and we gave each other a look. Neither of us had to say anything. A day full of adventures ended.

Days later we announced a competition to name and brand the wine and the winner, coincidentally was Adventure (Arkats). It was a hit with the local aficionados who liked the unusual and unfiltered blend of Areni and Montepulciano and was sold out in a couple of months’ time. This inspired us to make the same wine the following year, under Stork name and also plant the varietals, amongst others, in our own new vineyard for future vintages. Ashoun was an integral part of the team by then, driving with us to pick the harvest and then helping us out at the winery.

I was inconsolable and distraught this summer when Ashoun passed away tragically. I scattered his ashes near his beloved vineyard and am still coming to terms with the loss. While our adventure ended so untimely, this bottle of Adventure will always remind me of the good times.