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The Story of Gypsy Dancer

1/7/2013

7 Comments

 
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Life is a dance with many steps that you make & take along the way.

This is the story of Gypsy Dancer.

When I met Gary Andrus, I was working three jobs living in a tiny cabin at a drive-in movie theater in Colorado. One of my jobs was working for a wine distributor and Gary and I met one fateful day at a wine event in Vail. Gary said he knew the moment that I walked in the door that he would marry me. I wasn’t quite as optimistic. A few weeks later, he flew to Colorado to take me on a date and proposed that night.

Together we embarked on an amazing journey. We travelled, started two wineries on two continents in two hemispheres, and had two beautiful daughters, Gypsy and Romanee. Gary was such an icon to so many, but to us he was just Daddy, husband and partner.  We had so much fun making wine together and we did make a lot of wine.  Having the winery in Oregon and New Zealand meant two harvests per year.  When we hatched the plan, we were thinking endless summer but in reality, it was endless work.  I must say, the work was fun and exhilarating and I learned quickly what it took to make very high quality Pinot Noir. It was an education anyone with a passion for wine would love to have.

It broke our hearts when Gary passed away. The girls were very young and I decided to leave Oregon and start a whole new life in hopes it would ease the pain of his loss. We moved to South Dakota and went into the Bison business. We run our herd, a breeding operation, at my sister and her husband’s Prairie Moon Ranch and live in a tiny little prairie town near Badlands National Park.  The girls are thriving and settled and that was the objective, but I felt a yearning for what I finally admitted was my passion, making wine.

I approached Rebecca about making a 2012 vintage 2 weeks before the harvest and it was almost magical the way that everything fell into place.  We were able to get grapes from Dukes Family Vineyards, great friends that Gary and I helped start in the wine business. Rebecca and I spent a lot of time talking about what kind of wine “the new” Gypsy Dancer should be stylistcally and she took the reins and made an impressive wine.  I decided to start small in the first vintage and build from there.

One day as I was visiting with an old friend of Gary’s, a very successful winemaker, I told him that I was planning on re-launching the Gypsy Dancer brand.  He was shocked that I hadn’t asked him to make the wine at his winery and had chosen another path.  He then recounted how Gary had mentored him when he was starting out and how influential  he had been in his career and his life.  Further, he went on to tell me that he had made a “Gary wine” two prior vintages ago, but that it didn’t “fit” with his current winery’s style.  To me, Todd seemed almost confused as to why he made the wine in the first place. When we tried the wine, I was so amazed at how similar, stylistically, it was to Gypsy Dancer and how different it was from Biggio Hamina, Todd’s winery.  Moreover, it was with such passion that Todd told me how he had made the wine, in Gary’s style that struck me as meaningful. 

When I left his winery, I realized what direction I wanted to go with Gypsy Dancer, how I was going to tie the past to the future.  I realized that I needed two wines going forward. One, Gypsy Dancer Legacy which would help the girls and I to celebrate Gary and our lives together going forward, and a second, Gypsy Dancer Tribute, made by his fellow winemakers, people who were touched and influenced by Gary made in tribute to his contribution and style in the wine business.

Christine Andrus

7 Comments
. Rogers
3/23/2013 04:21:39 am

My eyes are full of tears as I write this. Gary would be so happy to know that you are going forward in his memory. What a wonderful thing to do, to remember him for the girls and for you, of course, but also to reach into the future. Congratulations and best wishes for much success and happiness.
Love, Linda

Reply
Marie-Eve
7/29/2013 08:38:55 am

Hello Christine,
I haven't seen you since 2005 but I have tracked you down with the web from time to time, just because I care to know what you do.
So today is a big surprise and joy to discover this turn in your life.
I miss and dream of coming back to Oregon, or maybe it is just that I would like to go back in time sometimes.
Gary was quite a character, creative yet scientific, generous, visionary, affectionnate, bigger than life, but people need to know you are very well endowed too ! That's why you will succeed.
I wish you the best for this business and your family life.
Marie-Eve.

Reply
Christine
9/30/2013 08:10:15 am

Marie-Eve! I've been looking for you for years. Please email me so that we can catch up. What fine and beautiful memories I have of our time together in Oregon and also New Zealand. Please let me know where you are and what you are doing!
Christine Andrus

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Leo Cook
9/30/2013 10:15:09 am

This is a wonderfully well written account of some very special people. I am so excited that the label is being re-introduced. So now there are more memories to create. Keep up the fantastic work and remember, I'll bring the corkscrew.

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Mike Hardy
9/30/2013 01:39:13 pm

Well, it's about time. Trish will be more eloquent, but I just want to say how excited we are that you are re-launching the dream. Well done and Gary would be very proud. Perhaps we can have another co-birthday party for the kids?
Cheers!
Mike Hardy

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Trish Hardy
10/1/2013 12:37:15 am

Wahooo! My fave winery making a comeback?! I'm in! I am so happy for you and the girls. I know Gary is beaming down at you right now. I'm glad you have had some healing time, and are now looking forward to the next grand adventure. You are going to rock this! We all have faith in you. And, do not hesitate to ask us to help out in any way! We love you girls!

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Joleen Wise link
10/3/2013 12:08:29 am

Dearest Christine, I hope you know how much I love you and the girls. Though we are far apart and aren't in each other's life on a daily basis, you three are in my heart. I wish you great joy and happiness as you embark on this next journey. Save a bottle for me, and we will drink it together in memory of Gary

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  • THE STORY
    • THE GALLERY
    • THE BLOG
  • THE WINE
    • 2017 Legacy
    • 2017 Christine's Cuvee
    • 2017 Cuvee Romy
    • 2016 Bayliss-Bower
    • 2016 Lia's Vineyard
    • 2016 Cuvee Romy
    • 2016 Legacy
    • THE CLUB
  • THE REVIEWS
  • THE EVENTS
  • CONTACT
    • SIGN UP