Welcome to the circus
Hello all, and welcome to the inaugural blog post of Washington’s premier family-owned and operated winery.
A blog… We know, right? Why is Barnard Griffin starting a blog… now?
Well, in our defense there wasn’t much of ‘blog scene’ when we started 36 years ago. Come to think of it there wasn’t much of an ‘internet’, either.
The reason is simple – we want you to know us, beyond what you can extract from a wine bottle.
So, a quick introduction… beyond the brand, Barnard Griffin is a somewhat typical nuclear family:
Rob Griffin – father/winemaker/NoCal transplant – has built his circus and gets to work in it every day.
Deborah Barnard – mother/artist/also from NoCal – because she was the one with a real job 36 years ago… this place is her circus, too. At least she doesn’t have to work on the bottling line for free, anymore.
Elise Jackson – eldest daughter/mother of 2 – when not dazzling guests, Elise spends a good amount of time keeping the third generation of Barnard Griffin (Hi G + Coco!) alive and thriving.
Megan Hughes – youngest daughter/Rob’s mini-me/also a winemaker/the person who’s writing this…
I’m the second-generation winemaker, enologist… but this is my family’s business- so realistically, I go where I’m needed. We all do. A family business is a sort of intimate affair, and while we have wine distributed through-out the country, we run a pretty lean crew at home. Deborah polishes glasses at parties, Rob weeds and picks up trash while he’s on the phone, Elise has served in the restaurant a time or two… and I have been spending the past couple years doing whatever Barnard Griffin needs of me.
That’s what a family-owned and operated winery is… we’re in this for the long haul.