Sleeping Dog Wines

Unedited

You don’t need to be big to be a successful winery. Often how we measure success goes beyond the balance sheet and considers other factors. Most boutique wineries survive because either they start with a sizeable war chest or the winemaker keeps a day job. But there’s another factor often overlooked that doesn’t show up in the financials – volunteers. Not just one-timers but volunteers that return vintage after vintage to help with crush, label bottles and pack cases. For a day’s work, they are paid in wine, a free meal and the knowledge that their signature is on that year’s release.

Larry and Joyce Oats of Sleeping Dog Wines know all about the importance of volunteers. They’ve managed to recruit a band of friends and kept them energized despite not being on the payroll. They achieve this in large part because they are good people and because they produce a terrific product. In turn, the volunteers return to their abodes in Benton City or the Tri Cities and spread the word about their experience and the word goes viral about the Sleeping Dog Wines’ malbec, syrah, rosé and the like.

Regularly walking nearby Buoy Vineyards with his winery dog Aurora, self-proclaimed “Alpha Larry” is intimate with the source of his fruit. From bud break to harvest, he’s involved in pruning, managing pests, monitoring disease, noting the irrigation needs and watching the weather. He tastes the clusters as they ripen to know when to pick. Larry knows that every great vintage starts with great fruit – you can’t make exceptional wine with bad grapes. It starts in the field as noted even in the ancient agriculture writings of the Romans.

You can debate whether Larry’s malbec or syrah is better, but I’d say it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie and enjoy them both!