We were lucky to catch up with Anne Watson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Anne, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
Deciding to plant a vineyard is a risk in itself for many reasons. But, planting our vineyard with the aim of creating our own family wine label was a decision that my husband Tim & I made together when we bought our ranch here in Fallbrook, CA almost a decade ago in 2014. And the risks seemed reasonable at the time as he was going to oversee the vineyard as his main occupation, and I would continue my photography business to support us. But, things took an unexpected & devastating turn in 2021 when Tim passed away after an 18-month battle with stomach cancer, and I suddenly found myself at a crossroads with a huge decision to make. Do I fold the business and walk away? Or do I take over where Tim left off, learn-as-I-go about wine growing, and carry on our dream of having a family vineyard on my own? The risk of carrying on felt daunting, yet every cell of my body told me it was the right thing to do and a risk I wanted to take. So, there I was – a widow at age 42 who was suddenly the sole owner & head wine grower of our family’s wine business, and I felt more determined than ever to make it work.
It is now 2 years later and it’s an ongoing journey. I am still running my photography business, Anne Watson Content Development, because food photography is my passion. And I’ve also launched a Reiki healing & meditation business, Watson Wellness, that I operate here at The Watson Ranch and I absolutely love that work. But, my third business – the one I’m here to talk about today – Watson Ranch Vineyards, will always hold a very special place in my heart.
If I’m honest, there are many days when running the vineyard feels overwhelming – Mother Nature is a diligent teacher, and constantly reminds me that I have so much to learn. And financially the vineyard is a relentless venture (you certainly shouldn’t go into wine growing if you’re looking to make any money! My goal with the wine business is simply to try and get it to a point of financial sustainability, so I’m working very hard at that.) But, despite the challenges, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. When I walk out amongst the vines, I talk to them and get to know them as the living beings that they are. I send them healing Reiki energy and pour love into them, And I can honestly say that it’s a reciprocal relationship as I feel them loving me back. And there is nothing more beautiful than harvesting their grapes each year with my own hands and getting to taste the fruits of my labor in the wines themselves. The wines are living, breathing bottles of loving, artistic expression, and I can think of no better legacy to leave than that.
Anne, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m Anne Watson, owner of Anne Watson, Inc. which houses three brands within it: Anne Watson Content Development (my food photography business), Watson Wellness (my Reiki, yoga & meditation business), and Watson Ranch Vineyards (my family’s vineyard & private wine label). Today I’m excited to focus on the wine business and share more with you about Watson Ranch Vineyards and how that business is evolving and growing.
I am Owner & Head Winegrower for my family’s intimate 3-acre Cabernet Sauvignon & Sangiovese vineyard in Fallbrook, California where I am carrying-on my husband Tim’s legacy by hand-tending our vines on their North-facing slopes in beautiful San Diego County. Planted in 2015, our Cabernet Sauvignon & Sangiovese vineyard was originally operated under the care of my late husband, Tim Watson, who spearheaded the vineyard’s creation and oversaw the business until his passing in 2021 after an 18-month battle with stomach cancer. I am carrying on Tim’s legacy now by pouring love into our vines, from hand-pruning to manual irrigation to friends-and-family harvesting, the entire winegrowing process at Watson Ranch Vineyards is one that I hold very dear. I hope that those who taste my wines can also taste my passion for the grape growing process itself and for the love I have for Mother Earth.
I currently have two vintages, the 2019 & 2020, of my Watson Ranch Vineyards ‘Piston Broke’ Cabernet Sauvignon available for online purchase at brixandbarrel.com. And this Fall I will be launching my take on a Super Tuscan with a Sangiovese-Cabernet Blend — get ready for my ‘Super Watson!’
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Up until now, we have exclusively bottled 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from our vineyard – our family’s Watson Ranch Vineyards ‘Piston Broke’ Cabernet (which was named by my late husband Tim who had a VERY dry English sense of humor… he loved cars & motorcycles and was often working on them – hence the reference to a broken piston. But the name has a second hidden meaning… in England when you are drunk, you’re “pissed.” And, according to Tim, “When you own a vineyard, you’re broke!” So, Piston Broke = Pissed n’ Broke!)
Two weeks ago, however, we just bottled the very first vintage of a new Sangiovese-Cabernet blend — my take on a Super Tuscan that I’m calling our “2021 Super Watson.” And wow – I was caught off guard by how emotional that bottling was for me. After it was bottled, I arrived home from the winery and sat at my kitchen counter holding the one unlabeled bottle that I’d brought home with me with tears streaming down my face… because it hit me. This business is no longer just a matter of carrying on Tim’s legacy. This wine is also MY legacy. This bottle was made from 2021 grapes – all of which I oversaw the growth of & harvested with friends and family in that first season after Tim’s passing earlier that year. Those grapes were “my babies” and this wine is going to be an expression of my love, hard work, and resilience. What an honor it will be to share that with the world when I release it this Fall.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
I am a wine grower and a wine seller, but I am definitely not a wine maker! And we were so lucky to find the amazing team at Fallbrook Winery when we began this venture back in 2015. They have been instrumental in not only the initial planting of our vineyard, but also its ongoing maintenance (I could never do big jobs like putting on & taking off bird netting each season without the Fallbrook Winery team’s help, for example!). And then the wine making itself – from processing the grapes that I bring in from harvest each Fall, to fermentation, barrel aging, bottling & labeling – Fallbrook Winery’s team manages it all for us. Wine making is an art that requires someone with a delicate balance between scientific know-how and creative sensibility, and Fallbrook Winery’s Winemaker, Euan Parker, embodies exactly that. He oversees our custom crush process for Watson Ranch Vineyards and it’s so reassuring to know that our wines are in such talented hands.
Contact Info:
- Website: annewatson.com/wine
- Instagram: @theannewatson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theannewatson
- Other: brixandbarrel.com
Image Credits
Brandy Young, B Young Forever Photography Kate Noelle, Kate Noelle Photography