Price supports rarely benefit small farmers.
Checking on the Cows
With the pandemic and the protests dominating the news, Father’s Day kind of snuck up on me this year. With little time to plan, my daughter and I took the path of least resistance and bought John the golf net he’s been hinting at. It’s definitely a better gift than many I got for my own father in years past. A large hand-painted ashtray and a heated shaving cream dispenser stand out as memorably egregious choices, but Dad accepted all and sundry with warm thanks and always made an effort to use them, too. He wore the ties, ate our various cake and cookie experiments, and proclaimed them ‘terrific’. Which is what good dads do.
Later on, my go-to gift became a bottle of good Bourbon, but that could be complicated. Mom didn’t care for alcohol. As a child of the Depression, she couldn’t bring herself to throw it out, but she would hide it; Dad started stashing the bottle in the barn. At family gatherings, he’d go ‘check on the cows.’ Gradually, we’d all volunteer to help him ‘check on the cows’. If Mom found this newfound bovine fascination suspect, she never said so.
If you’re still searching for the right gift for Father’s Day, we can help with that. If he’s a red wine lover, you could try the Hoopes Family Oakville Cabernet, grown on an outcropping of pure volcanic soil and overflowing with notes of blackberry, cassis, and milk chocolate. Or Schild Estate’s Moorooroo Shiraz, from 4 single rows of 168-year-old vines, a miracle of black cherry, dark chocolate, and exotic spices. If he’s more of a whiskey guy, maybe he’d like the cask-strength Balmorhea Bourbon from Garrison Brothers. Or one of Whistlepig’s stellar limited edition Rye whiskeys. Or one of our private barrel expressions from Mad River Distillers or Privateer Rum. Or…the list goes on. If you’re looking for a liquid gift, we can help.
Or maybe you just offer to help him check on the cows. That works, too. Happy Father’s Day!