Sitting at a table with wine, food, family and friends was where Kathleen Kelley Young was truly happy. I think of the last project into which she poured herself collaborating with her husband and daughter establishing their Cloverdale Kelley & Young Wine Garden Inn. Early on she described the endeavor as sustainably farmed, passionately prepared, gratefully shared. It is the ‘gratefully shared’ part I hold on to now, as I remember Kathleen who died early last week.
Kathleen’s hands were always busy: digging into soil, designing, planting or planning elaborate gardens, menus and gatherings. She created living masterpieces with edible and colorful landscaping. Kathleen was an artist. Yet, throughout a 30-year friendship with her, I came to appreciate her most beautiful offering was her kind, grateful and compassionate heart that she shared with everyone who stepped into her kitchen and the inner circle of her life.
There was an element of magic that surrounded Kathleen. Take, for example, her wedding day to Jim Young. It was a fairytale wedding with Kathleen in a brocaded dress fit at the waist cascading into rivers of soft white satin. The radiance of her smile, as she walked down the aisle of the Alexander Valley Church to stand across from her best friend and soon to be husband in this sanctuary built in 1896 by Jim’s ancestors with their Alexander Valley community. A horse and carriage waited outside the church to deliver Kathleen and Jim the 2+miles down the road to the Robert Young Estate to celebrate.
Kathleen’s kitchen was a popular gathering place long before Kelley & Young Garden Inn was founded. I often wondered which came first, Kathleen’s talent for cooking or the necessity of feeding the many people she attracted.
Kathleen was a native of Maine. Immersed in nature and surrounded by four distinct seasons, her prevailing sense of respect and her patience were seeded by a solid New England upbringing.
The year 2000 was a vintage year for Kathleen and Jim. It was the year they married and when their love for each other extended into shared winemaking. Kathleen convinced Jim to pick one lone vineyard block that needed thinning from the Robert Young Vineyards. Creating this Chardonnay together marked the auspicious start of their winemaking partnership.
Five years later, grape vines all over Sonoma County were laden with fruit and wineries were unable to accommodate the plentiful crop. Jim as an owner and manager of Robert Young Vineyards, which grows many varieties of grapes, but then only bottled estate Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, had 10 extra tons of perfect Sauvignon Blanc. Although Robert Young Estate Winery and all other wineries were bursting at the cellar seams, Jim and Kathleen miraculously found the one available 10-ton stainless steel tank in wine country to make their Sauvignon Blanc. With the finished wine in hand, Kathleen and Jim approached Patriarch Robert Young. He gave Jim and Kathleen his blessing to sell the wine and establish a wine brand of their own. Kelley & Young was officially launched with this 2005 Sauvignon Blanc.
The last time I saw Kathleen was the day her first grandchild was born. A quintessential mother, she was ready to welcome her finest role yet. As we spoke of life, children and grandchildren, Kathleen checked her Apple Watch every three seconds eager for news of Barrett.
Kathleen once told me her brother’s reaction when he first visited her in the Alexander Valley. Appreciating that she had been raised on a river with her arms elbow deep in vegetable gardens, he said, “You haven’t really gone anywhere Sis, you’ve gone home.”
There is an empty seat at the Sonoma County vintner’s table.
When we are all together again, we will raise a glass of Kelley & Young Kathleen Rose Rosé. Cheers to the joy of her life, and the love she so freely gave as our long lasting gift.
