Summary: “For me wine is really just a metaphor for what life can be, of how we can join together… my bucket list item is really finding that sense of communion within myself and other people.” – Michael Hasler The Bucket List Life Podcast Episode #63 - What We Love Winery In the studio, on this episode #64 of The Bucket List Life Podcast with Kenyon Salo, we are honored to have three guests with us. Along with Kenyon, they were part of a delectable experience that took place at ‘What We Love The Winery’ (WWLW) in Boulder, CO. in February of this year. The winery opened its doors to 5 guests from The Bucket List Life as part of an opportunity for these wine enthusiasts to check off an item from their buckets lists, to learn what it’s like to make some of the most phenomenal wine on the planet. Two of today’s guests are the owners of What We Love The Winery, Carolee Corey and her husband Michael Hasler. The third guest is one of the members of The Bucket List Life who was one of the lucky five guests, Linnea Lewis. They will share this fascinating experience with us, with a special twist thrown in!. Highlights of their podcast conversation: 3:10 Michael shares with us how WWLW came to be. It all started with a passion for wine making. At age 14 Michael had a mate in Sydney Australia that used to make wine with a relative. Michael didn’t have a direction yet, but decided he wanted to try his own hand at making wine. His first batch was wine made from the Mulberries he picked off of a bush outside. That ignited his passion. He read and reread Hugh Johnson’s The World Atlas of Wine, and from that point on most of his life and schooling was based around wine and wine making 7:45 Carolee tells us the inspiration for the name of their business. We learn that she has found a place, in her, that supports Michael’s passion. It has been a challenge at times but it has brought their relationship to a higher level. 10:45 Michael talks about what it is like in the “backside” of the winery. It’s all about meticulous hygiene, chemistry, tasting, slowly taking the wine in the direction he wants it to go, a lot more tasting, testing, moving from barrel to tank, bottling, and filtering. The pace is slow, “…slowly moving towards that one flavor that every flavor creationist is trying to do, bring their creation to the peak of perfection.” It’s a lot of time and hard work. 13:45 Kenyon asks Michael what his # 1 bucket list item is. “For me wine is really just a metaphor for what life can be, of how we can join together…for me my bucket list item is really finding that sense of communion within myself and other people.” Michael also seeks to find that sense of communion with himself as an individual, where life is celebrated at the peak, without props, “it’s a sense of living life, almost naked…there is no grandeur about it, more just sitting down in a chair and literally breaking bread and enjoying the moment.” 16:30 We learn about how TBLL member Matt introduces Kenyon to WWLW and the ‘TBLL Day With a Winemaker’ was created. Linnea was one of the five individuals invited to attend that day. She tells us how super exciting it was and how it filled her soul to share this experience with the others that felt the same way. “It was really special.” They shared an incredible lunch and Linnea was touched by a sense of family as they all united for fabulous wine, great food, stories and shared passion. The day concluded with an amazing party for 50 people with a joining of hands and hearts. Michael shares how The Bucket List Life has somehow brought something together for What We Love The Winery. 35:30 Michael lets us in on a grand surprise. That day they decided that WWLW is going to brew what they will call ‘The Bucket List Life Blend’! They will bring the original five attendees back and go through the entire process of developing a wine from tasting to bottling. This wine will be available for sale.
