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This tradition continues today as between eight and twenty of the wine country “professionals” on Doc’s list of fifty typically show on any given day. Among the regulars are Duane Hoff (5), proprietor of Fantesca, and Jade Barrett, associate winemaker at Ladera and New Zealand native. Some are old pros like Patrick Beatty (6), the vineyard manager for Beatty Ranch, who played in college at Cal Poly and in New Zealand, while others, like Sarah Sapone (7), who arrived in St. Helena two years ago for an architecture internship, are new to the sport and come out on occasion. Some players don’t know each other’s names, while others have history. Nick Reinell (8), enologist at Peju, has known Doc since he was little and hopes to follow his footsteps into the veterinary world. On the night I attended (a bad night for Ian), there were over twenty people of varying ages, sex and skill level. When one of Reinell’s teammates scored yet another try, he joked loudly: “Someone’s not having a hard enough harvest over there.” From the sidelines it was impossible to tell who was on what team, as they clearly don’t believe in stripes vs. solids or skins vs. shirts. But in a small town where your barista is likely your neighbor, and your neighbor often your sister’s best friend, they seem to figure it out just fine. I’d like to leave you with a profound statement about rugby, wine and life. But Ian just rushed out of the office with his cleats and holding up a text from Doc: “Touch is on. 530. High School,” and said, “Print that”... and that, I think, is a perfect end to this story. 5


NVLife_NovDec_2012
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