Fifty years ago, Jessee Ring met his future wife, Debby, while attending the University of Virginia. One of the things the young couple had in common was an interest in wines.
Wine intrigued them. Not only did they find it an enjoyable beverage, wine also presented them with never-ending opportunities for learning and variety. One could drink wine for a lifetime and never run out of new ones to try. The Rings also discovered that the world contains endless prospects for wine aficionados to dig as deep as they want into the characteristics of wine regions and the wines they produce.
Jessee jumped in with both feet. He read books and magazines about wine, popped corks, took tasting notes, started a wine collection, went to wine tastings, attended antique wine auctions, and is still going strong.
He became particularly interested in Bordeaux wines. He did extensive research on them, including referring frequently to an eighteen-hundred-page tome that lists and discusses every one of the approximately seven-thousand wine-growing estates in Bordeaux. In 2013, Jessee and Debby visited Bordeaux, and to this day, they maintain an extensive collection of Bordeaux wines. Proudly, the collection includes bottles from old vintages going back as far as 1945.
Though Bordeaux is a favorite, there were more wine varieties out there to learn about and enjoy.
But wine was not their business.
Jessee achieved a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and quickly got into computer applications. His high-tech work then took him across the country and around the world. He even found himself in India during the out-sourcing movement. Eventually, Jessee finished his high-tech career after seven years in Silicon Valley, working as an independent consultant and contractor.
Debby got her degree in Nursing on a Navy scholarship, became a Navy Nurse during the Vietnam era, got a master’s degree, and moved into the U.S. Public Health Service. While in the PHS, she traveled extensively in Micronesia.
For years, Jessee and Debby talked about someday moving back East. They considered various possible locations like Charlottesville or Lexington in Virginia; Tryon in North Carolina, or even Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.
The Rings had lived the big city life in one form or another for most of their adult lives, including a short time in downtown San Francisco. A change of pace is what they wanted, and a country environment that wasn’t isolated is what drew them. Southwest Virginia seemed most appealing. After all, it was Jessee’s native home. In the end, while still in California, they bought a five-acre plot just outside of Radford.
During their last years in California, Jessee and Debby started hearing about Virginia wines. This intrigued them, as Jessee was from the area, and they had both graduated from UVA. Whenever making trips to Virginia, they would buy a couple of bottles to take home and try. Their interest was piqued.
In 2005, they finally took the plunge and made the move. It took a year to plan and build a house, but in May of 2006, they moved into their new Radford home.
Once moved into their new house, and with a little bit of land available, a thought occurred to them. Wouldn’t it be fun to plant a few grapevines and make wine from the produce? Wouldn’t it be fun to sit on the porch sipping a glass of wine made from grapes grown right over there?
In 2006, as an experiment, Jessee and Debby planted a few classic wine grapevines. It wasn’t long before the new endeavor took on a life of its own.
Read the full article at radfordmagazine.com