Calistoga Orthodox Wines

"Bless this fruit of the vine, and grant sanctification and prosperity of soul unto all of us that shall partake of it."

-Prayer at the Harvesting of a Vineyard, Book of Needs (Trebnik)

For the past seven years, as I've been in charge of selling quite good chalice wine for the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR (St Zosima Candles), I've always wondered why it is that we needed to import the really good Chalice wine from Greece and the Crimea. I mean, the really good Chalice wine is simply not available in this country, and certainly not grown domestically.

About a year ago I was assigned to St Symeon of Verkhotursk Orthodox Parish (ROCOR), which is located in the very northern tip of the Napa Valley, in a little hamelt called Calistoga.

It just so happens that in this same little hamlet of Calistoga there is also an Orthodox Monastery, a convent, Holy Assumption Monastery (OCA).

Both the sisterhood of Holy Assumption Monastery and I came to Calistoga at about the same time in 2009. We were given the blessing by both of our hierarchs (Archbishop Kyrill and Bishop Benjamin) to support each other spiritually, and this has included full eucharistic communion, to the Glory of God!

In addition to our sacramental life, we both have been faced with the challenge of finding a means to support ourselves in this little resort and agricultural community of Calistoga.

Calistoga Orthodox Wines was started for this purpose; with the encouragement of our local friend and vintner Dirk Fulton; Check out his site: Lazysusanwines.com.

With Dirk's guidance, St Symeon Orthodox Church and Holy Assumption Orthodox Monastery will come together to create Calistoga Orthodox Wines, a non-profit company that will have the objective of doing one thing...making the best quality Chalice Wine possible using local grapes, to help support Orthodoxy in the Napa Valley, to the Glory of God.