Fields of Dreams (page 4 of 4)

• Best of America

Dream Come True

Today the drafty ranch house has been replaced by a pink mini-mansion. Most of the kids have places of their own. But Maria still cooks for a full house at least once a week. Tonight she's loading a lace-draped table with Michoacán delicacies -- chiles rellenos, squash with sweet potato, brisket, shrimp and more -- as her children gather.

A generously built woman with a jaunty air, she banters with the kids and sings along with the ranchera music on the stereo. The younger guests (including a few grandkids) drink soda pop, but the rest stick to the family product. Even those in muddy T-shirts swirl their glasses with the finesse of a sommelier.

Robledo had long hankered to make his own wine, and when daughter Lorena married her childhood sweetheart, Rolando Herrera, winemaker for the prestigious Paul Hobbs label, he found the partner he needed. He released his first wine, a Merlot, in 1998. Other varieties soon followed. And in October 2003 he opened a winery and tasting room in a converted dairy barn in Sonoma. "That's when everything fell into place," says Vanessa, now the winery's president.

In the tasting room, a carved oak bar surrounded by stacks of barrels, the founder himself would often perch on a stool, regaling visitors with the story of his life. Beguiled by the man as well as his wines, oenophiles spread the word to others around the country. The buzz helped multiply sales to restaurants and wine boutiques, and lured hundreds of monthly subscribers to the Robledo wine club, known appropriately as La Familia.

As a privately held firm, Robledo Family Winery does not disclose its revenues. But if one indication of wealth is the capacity to share it, the company is doing well indeed: Over the past three years, it has raised more than $100,000 for farm workers' health, housing and literacy programs.

Certainly the enterprise is robust enough to keep Robledo's children busy. Rey Jr., 33, is chief grafter. Everardo develops land, and Jenaro runs the main vineyard operation, Robledo Ranches. Francisco, 24, is a cellar rat, or winemaking apprentice; his twin, Luis, handles outside sales. Lazaro, 21, works the tasting room, and Emiliano, 13, is in charge of bird control, which he accomplishes by riding his ATV into flocks of crows while shrieking.

At the winery's annual harvest festival, Robledo kicks off the festivities, leading a band of mariachis up the gravel drive as they play "Cielito Lindo." While his guests and family mingle, eat and drink, Robledo circulates, connecting with his customers from across the United States and beyond as though they were his oldest friends. Later he retreats to the edge of the vineyard, just beyond the yellow winery building. "Look at the smiles," he marvels. "This is why I can work the way I do without getting tired. These people have adopted me. They love me. I've made them happy! I can't describe how that makes me feel."

Then he finds the words he needs, like so many new Americans before him: "Right now my dreams have come true."

From Reader's Digest - May 2007