The Story Behind Ancient Fire Wines

In the last few months quite a few people have asked how I got started and how I picked the name I use for my personal brand.

Earlier in the week I sent around a link to a local news story about Ancient Fire Wines and how I got into making beer and wine at home. That is indeed how my hobby began. I frequently thank my wife for asking me at the right time to consider a hobby, and indulging what has turned into a bit of an obsession. I have grown as a person through that decision and I can’t imagine being here any other way.

I haven’t kept track of how many batches of wine, cider, beer and mead I have made, but I’d guess it tops 100 going back to November of 2003. I have used all sorts of ingredients both commercial and local. So many different experiments have been done using juices, purees, grains, honey, packaged kits, imported grapes, extracts, spices, locally picked fruits, grapes grown by friends, oak chips & cubes, and maple syrup. I have created all sorts of blends, had my share of failures and never miss learning something new, from even something thing I have done dozens of times. I love it!

The name Ancient Fire Wines has it own story. About the same time I got going with my home brewing my family purchased a vacation house in southern Vermont. Once I started going there for weekends and vacations I was hooked. We have no broadcast or cable TV up there and really who wants to watch TV when you can sit outside and watch nature and all of its glory?

( pretty sweet, huh? )

We do have a DVD player and a healthy collection of DVDs that are best used to pass time on rainy days and at night after we’ve come in from around the fire pit. My mother and I both have a fascination with nature documentaries. As such my mother had purchased a few and left them on a shelf up there. One in particular has connected with something in me that is hard to explain. Originally shown in IMAX, the movie The Seasons, narrated by William Shatner, has got to be one of the most wonderful expressions of the cycle of the seasons that we know so well here in New England. Filmed in Minnesota, the visuals are spitting images of where I live, our vacation place and all the outdoor haunts I know around New England. It was released in 1987 so it isn’t modern effects-wise now, and the translation from IMAX to DVD isn’t spectacular. That can easily be overlooked after you see it.

In one scene during the segment on the summer where a carnival and its lights are shown Shatner explains that this is a modern incarnation of how our ancestors “danced around the ancient fire”. Bingo! That is a great name for a brand of wine & beer. Neither would be possible without the sun its forces on our natural world. And thus, the name Ancient Fire Wines was taken.

I watch this movie all time, to the point that Margot rolls her eyes and walks into the other room. I have “subjected” friends to it whilst enjoying the VT place with us. I am connected to it. I can’t really explain why. I have always been fascinated by the seasons and have always felt that their changing was something I was tuned into unlike most people I know.

So many trips to VT have been made much sweeter with enjoyment of Ancient Fire beers, wines and ciders. Nothing is better than stitting on the deck swing in the sun kicking back with a glass of hard cider or strawberry wine.

Here is what the seasons look like when we get away to our lovely house in the woods in VT.

( Cold Winters. Time for snowshoeing, winter walks, and snuggling by the fire. )

( Spring time on the pond. Dad's boat ready for fishing. )

( Summer storms on the horizon. )

( The colors of Fall. My favorite of the seasons. )

That’s my story of how Ancient Fire Wines came to be. I hope you enjoyed it!

Cheers!

Jason