Beginnings

As the Barrel Turns...

We have been asked where we came up with the name M6. Since we are simple folks, we came up with a simple name. Our last name is Moody, hence the “M”. We have 4 children, hence the 6. 6 Moodys = M6. It’s not rocket science although it took 4 months to come up with the name.

Looking back, it seems that the seeds of this adventure were sown in 1984. Anne and I were in Washington State for Valentine’s weekend. Our oldest, Clinton, was 6 months old at the time. We visited our first winery on this trip which opened up a new part of this world to us.

From that visit, we began to drink wine periodically. Periodically became frequent. We noticed that when we had a glass of wine with a meal, the meal seemed a bit more special. The spaghetti, sauce, salad, and bread were the same, but the meal was different. It was a bit better, maybe even elegant.

We began to notice that our attitudes tended to be better about situations and circumstances after the first sip of wine. It was not the effect of alcohol because it was the first sip. However, pouring and raising a glass made the ordinary seem more special.

Many years later (who has time for hobbies when you are raising four children?) I began making wine as a gift to Anne. (I’ll explain in more detail later) I made a kit wine from Riesling Juice and it was very good! We enjoyed it, so I made another. I have been intrigued by the chemistry and process ever since. I very much enjoy making all kinds of wines. I am especially excited about blending wines. To me, a blend is a work of art beginning with a blank canvas.

I have a very close friend, let’s call him Bob. Bob and I have shared the joy of wine-making over several years. Bob has grown grapes since around 2002. We have shared ideas, made wine together, made wine separately from the same harvest, poured out bad wine, and are thoroughly enjoying the journey. We both were interested in taking our passion to the next level and we discussed this leap until we ran out of excuses. We are such good friends that we decided that we would NOT go into business together! So we each started our own. We are in different markets and it is interesting how different markets react. Bob is about a year ahead of me and I owe so much to him for his explanations and advice which still continues.