We recently connected with Kristi Abrahamson and have shared our conversation below.
Kristi, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I feel my work ethic is strong and comes from several experiences: watching how hard my grandparents worked on their farms and long hours they put in, watching my parents who worked full time balance success with both work and raising their family, and having inspiring teachers and coaches growing up. I also feel work ethic is innate in some people. I have always liked to work and received satisfaction from my accomplishments whether that be through sports, academics or the professional world. The reward, to me, wasn’t always monetary.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
With a long family history of farming, I have always had a desire to one day continue the legacy. After 20+ years in education and marketing, I decided to pursue a career in wine making, so I attained a degree in Viticulture and Enology, completed 2 internships at a highly esteemed winery in Paso Robles, CA and another internship with a distinguished, well-known Texas winemaker in Hye, TX. A lifelong learner, I will continue my training and education in an ongoing basis. I enjoy the creativity of wine making and feel how truly rewarding it is to see the fruits of my labor embodied in each glass of delicious wine.
After selling what my husband and I owned and transitioning out of our corporate roles, we moved full time to our hunting property in Montague, Texas to set our dream of starting a vineyard and winery in motion. The first estate Tempranillo vines were planted in 2018 followed by Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah, Picpoul Blanc, Petite Sirah and Petite Verdot. Lonesome Vine estate vineyard currently has nearly 6 acres under vine.
The winery/barrel room was completed in 2019 and our cozy temporary tasting room was completed in early 2023 with plans to expand in the future as we continue to grow. Our exclusive, appointment only, Old West tasting room allows for guests to step back in time and enjoy delicious wine in a relaxed old western setting.
Aside from a few part-time helpers and wonderful friends/planting volunteers, everything is grown and made by our own hands, including our cabin homestead, winery, barn, vineyard office and tasting room.
After many years of preparing and saving, accompanied by much blood, sweat and tears, the temporary tasting room is ready to serve guests on an appointment-only basis. We will begin having special events in 2024 such as: dinners in the vineyard, barrel tastings, charcuterie building class, food and wine pairings and a few wine education classes.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Work ethic, willingness to get your hands dirty and attention to detail. My advice would be to realize that you are going to have to take some risks so you may have to step out of your comfort zone, be organized with your time/schedule and be likeable.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I feel my biggest area of growth in the past 12 months has been to learn to figure things out on my own, without running to ask for help from my husband/business partner. Sometimes I may have needed physical help to lift heavy items, fix a winery tool I am working with, do lab work for the first time or figure out how something works in the winery. Other issues could be a new problem I haven’t encountered before that I have to think through on my own. With the type of work we do in the vineyard and the winery, there are all types of situations that can come up. It’s different every day, but that also makes it interesting and exciting. There are certainly no boring days out here on the ranch.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.LonesomeVine.com
- Instagram: lonesomevinewine
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064691526360
Image Credits
Butch Whitfield Photography
