The Black Sheep of the Pina Family

Wikipedia tells us this about the term Black sheep:

Black sheep is an English language idiom which describes an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within one's family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness.[1] It derived from the untypical and unwanted presence of black woolled individuals in herds of sheep, which was undesirable because wool from such sheep could not be dyed.

All four Pina brothers attended St. Helena public schools, and since there are only about six years separating us, we shared lots of the same teachers. One teacher that we all had was Martel Cooper. He taught the Ag Classes and metal shop. I liked Mr. Cooper, even though after one incident at school, he referred to me as the Black Sheep of the Pina Family. I accepted that he was accurate in his assessment, and carried that burden with me through the years. My guilt lessened over time as I heard more & more stories about the escapades that my brother John participated in. By comparison, my activities were quite tame. So maybe it’s a good thing that the word “sheep”, can be singular or plural. Because I’m convinced that in this instance, the Black Sheep of the Pina Family should be a shared title.

For most of our open–house type events, all four brothers will be there participating. I’ve had as many questions from of our visitors about the 4 brothers, and how they get along running the winery, as about the wine. We’re all very different, but we are able to have lively discussions at our weekly meetings and arrive at consensus decisions fairly well most of the time. Of course it’s easier, quicker and better if they just agree with my views early on in these discussions (And I’m still working at convincing them to adopt that philosophy).

One area we differ on, is our favorite Pina wine. I think I’m alone in preferring the D’Adamo over all the others. Now if I’m having steak or lamb, I might go with the Buckeye Howell Mountain Cab. But since that doesn’t happen very often, I drink more D’Adamo than all of our Howell Mountain, Oakville, Rutherford and Yountville Cabs combined.

With that in mind, I was pleased when the following blog was posted:

http://www.chow.com/wine_and_drinks/5570 (Updated on 1/20/2009)

D’Adamo was finally getting the recognition I felt it deserved. From this, I couldn’t be sure the writer would prefer the D’Adamo over the others. But he thinks it’s pretty good wine so I’ll accept the Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell strategy with his endorsement. In no way can/should it be considered a Black Sheep within the Pina wine family – Not sure I can say the same about brother John.