For the podcast this week, this journey started in July at IPNC. It was hot, and one of the events before dinner was a tasting outside. The last thing anyone wanted was a Pinot, meaning whites and Sparkling were prized possessions to find! I approached the Stoller table, and Kate Payne-Brown poured something cold and Bubbly. We started talking, and what an incredible first impression! She wasn’t just there pouring wine. She was engaging and enjoyed showing off her talents in the heat of late July. We passed along contact information, and I knew I wanted her on the podcast.
With IPNC occurring in July, I had podcast interviews set up until mid-September. I wasn’t too worried about getting other interviews until it was too late, meaning there was no way I would disturb anyone during Harvest. I started getting my ducks in a row before Christmas to begin interviews for this year. Schedules and the Holidays played a part in getting this put together, but it was worth the wait! You need to listen to Kate recalling the story of her being on a Harley and deciding wine is the direction she wanted to take instead of being an optometrist. Outside of being the head winemaker at Stoller, she has her label called Dolores, where she makes Pinot and has a Sparkling of Pinot Blanc Gouges. Yeah, you need to listen to this interview. It rocks on so many levels!
Transcription of winemaker interview with Kate Payne-Brown of Stoller Family Estates
[00:00:00] A.J. Weinzettel: Kate, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. I really appreciate you taking the time. [00:00:05] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Oh, my pleasure. It’s fun, you know, uh, to be able to, uh, actually sit down and have a conversation with you. I feel like the last couple times we’ve seen each other, um, it’s been at big events. So it’s like, hi, bye. [00:00:20] A.J. Weinzettel: Yes, it has been at big events, you know, at uh, I p and C and then, you know, earlier or later in the fall at, at Salute, it was like, oh, hi. Nice to see you, [00:00:28] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: kind of thing. Exactly. I know. And so, yeah, it’s, it’s a real pleasure to be here. Thank you for asking me. . [00:00:35] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah, no, thank you. And I, uh, appreciate you accepting. [00:00:38] A.J. Weinzettel: It’s, uh, I know that we’ve gone through a couple reschedules and whatnot, so I’m glad that the schedule’s lined up and everything is, is, uh, going hunky dory now. [00:00:49] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I know. You know, I think, yeah, we are supposed to meet around Christmas time and then. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Uh, rsv, all the other things. So it’s a real, uh, I’m glad everybody’s healthy. [00:01:02] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Thank You’ll spend a time. [00:01:04] A.J. Weinzettel: Yes, yes. I, I totally agree. Um, so just kind of starting off, uh, your direction in life, you’re going to be in like an, an optometrist that, to start off with, why, why optometry? [00:01:16] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, you know, it resonated with me because. . I have a really poor vision. . I know. I, um, so I’m actually, uh, I’m a triplet and I was born, uh, two months early and, um, in those days, and I’m, I’m not, I’m pretty sure they do something similar now, but, um, when you’re that premature, um, they put you in an incubator and because of that, um, you. [00:01:48] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Kind of neovascularization of the eyes and your eyes tend to grow in different size shapes. So my eyes are kind of the shape of a football. Um, although, and so that always kind of stuck with me. And so when I was looking at, um, I did my undergrad in biology and chemistry from, uh, well, general sciences from the University of Oregon. [00:02:11] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And, um, I was looking at a field where, , I was always kind of future oriented, thinking about like potentially having a family and not necessarily wanting to be on call. Although having worked in the field, um, I know that’s not necessarily a hundred percent true, but that was my vision at the time. I was like, I think this would be really great. [00:02:32] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so I, um, when I left University of Oregon and then graduated, I started working. the field and started working for a great practice in Beaverton and they were incredibly supportive. They did a lot of FDA trials. It was a really great fit. Um, and then as I was starting to, um, get ready to go to optometry school, I, um, started working for an urban winery in Portland, um, by the name of Hip Chicks, do Wine. [00:03:00] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: They were in our neighborhood. We lived in East more. We kind of just stumbled upon it. And so my husband and I started volunteering and I really, I really liked it. Um, it was exciting. It kind of suited, um, you know, the, I suited this idea of creating something, but also having this science kind of foundation. [00:03:21] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so, um, I had this moment where I was like, oh, I think I wanna look into this. Right? And so that was one kind of, Facet of how it led me to go to winemaking. And then, you know, my husband, um, back then it was my boyfriend. Uh, gosh, we’ve been together for over 20 years now, which is crazy. And we Congrat went on. [00:03:47] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I know, right? Uh, we went on a, um, motorcycle ride. He has a hardley and his, we went with his dad and his dad’s friends and we went, I think we went to like Tahoe. , I don’t know, Reno, we went all over. But one of the gentlemen on the trip had said, um, I don’t even know how I got to talking about it, but he had said, you know, I met this guy and he, he called him a grape consultant and he said he , he said he was, um, from. [00:04:21] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: OSU or worked with OSU and travels around the world and eats and eats well, drinks wine. And it was kind of in that moment where I was like, I like to drink wine. I like to travel the world . And um, and so it kind of, you know, the two things kind of, um, happened at once and so I decided to look into it. And so since I had already. [00:04:48] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I had, you know, gone to school like, um, university of Oregon and, um, I was looking at uc, Davis. Um, but I had my college roommate from Oregon was living in Australia, doing her masters in, uh, geography in GI s when I, um, and she’s like, you know, there’s a great program here in Adelaide. You should look into it. [00:05:08] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so I looked at the master’s program down there and it just seemed incredibly compelling and an adventure to be able to, um, you know, move to Australia. So, um, yeah, uh, I applied and I got in and um, and then I had to break it to my parents that I was not gonna go to optometry school, uh, okay. That I was in fact, moving to Australia. [00:05:35] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, to study wine making and my parents, uh, you know, both children of immigrants, you know, their metric for success was. Very different . Um, you know the classic right? You right, you um, you become, if you’re a science, you have a science background. You, uh, go into the, somehow in research or medical, um, you know, it’s a safe route. [00:06:03] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so, right, they were like, what are you doing? What do you mean you’re just gonna move to Australia and do a master’s program in winemaking and. . Yep. And by the way, we’re gonna, we’re gonna get married , right? Before we do that. . [00:06:19] A.J. Weinzettel: Oh my goodness. All sorts of, uh, bombs dropping from the sky [00:06:23] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: all of a sudden. I know. [00:06:24] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I, I know. So, um, yeah, they were, you know, I mean, I was, I was an adult. Um, so yeah, I just, I was like, okay, this is what we’re doing. So it was a little bit of a shock for them. Um, but. I mean, it’s not like they stopped me. They were like, okay, oh, all right, that seems an adventure. Go do it. And so we, yeah, we got, um, I got into school in December, um, I can’t remember. [00:06:55] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: It was like 2004 maybe. And then we got married July of 2005 and we left for, um, Australia three weeks later and kind of started a new life. . [00:07:09] A.J. Weinzettel: That, that is absolutely amazing. I, I, I’m kind of curious, are there any, um, like dinner or holiday dinners where, you know, you’re with your parents and whatnot and they’re like, you know, we never thought that was gonna work out, but, you know, it, it did work out. [00:07:22] A.J. Weinzettel: Good job. [00:07:24] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Yeah. I think, um, they realized, like, I, I, one of my favorite stories to tell is, um, I was, Speaking to my mom and I was like, oh, you know, mom, I gotta go. I’ve gotta get up early in the morning. I’ve gotta go. , like pick grapes for a research project. And, um, this is in Australia, and she’s like, and they both grew up in, in New York City. [00:07:49] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And she’s like, oh my God, that sounds a lot like firming. I . She’s like, yep, that’s, that is exactly what it is. Um, and we’re not just, Drinking wine all the time. Um, although there was a fair bit of that, um, but it was such a magical time, you know, two years dedicated, um, to just studying and thinking about making wine and tasting wine and being in a really cohesive group. [00:08:21] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: There were 20 people, um, in the master’s program and then, um, there was a lot of interaction with the undergrads. We all got together all the time to study and to think about wine. You know, it’s at that point where you are, um, you know, so eager and hungry for all of it. And so, and it was just a really formidable time. [00:08:47] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I think back to that. It was like, holy cow. Um, how lucky were we? And so, um, and to answer your question, yeah, my parents. Were, they’re, they’re endlessly proud and they get, you know, they’ve always enjoyed wine. So, um, I think they were really, um, once they realized I wasn’t just going there to, you know, drink wine , right. [00:09:12] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, I thought it could be, you know, a career and so, and that there were there. Maybe it was a method to my Manus of some sort. But when we got there, my husband was not in the wine industry. Um, he was looking for, um, another avenue. Uh, he was working in the printing business here in, when we lived in Portland. [00:09:37] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so he was looking really for any job. But South Australia is pretty insular and it was really hard for him to, um, find something. And so, A friend of ours, a friend that I was going to school with, she had mentioned to, um, Andrew Hardy and Khan Maos at, uh, Petaluma in South Australia. It’s like, oh, you know, my mate, Griff has, we’ve been friends forever, even though we had been there like two months. [00:10:03] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, you should hire him for harvest. And so he got, which is, which was great. He, um, we like to say that we got two educations for the price of one. So, um, went to, uh, and worked for Petaluma and he really learned winemaking from, um, a different side, not necessarily a theoretical side, but from, um, the practical side. [00:10:27] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so he kind of got drawn into it that way. And, uh, [00:10:34] A.J. Weinzettel: yeah, that, that’s absolutely amazing that, that the two of you did that. And I, I can imagine, you know, the people that you met, you probably still keep in contact with this, you know, two to date. [00:10:45] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Oh, we’re so close. And even the prof, uh, professors in, right? [00:10:49] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, from Adelaide. It’s, it’s just remarkable. Like, I think you are there. Um, and you know, we’re all in our twenties, so, um, it was just, it was just incredible. Um, yeah, we’re, a lot of us are still in contact, um, and. What is great. Um, that was the jumping off point to having connections all over the world. So within my graduate program there was, you know, um, a woman from, um, Israel. [00:11:20] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, we had a couple, um, , you know, classmates from, uh, China and couple classmates from, you know, south America. Um, there were only four. There were four Americans out 20, which, you know, was actually a high amount for, um, but all over like, and only like a couple of Australians in the graduate program. The rest were from all over the world. [00:11:44] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so, Yeah, it’s just remarkable [00:11:48] A.J. Weinzettel: that, that, that is remarkable and mm-hmm. with your husband being in the industry now, it’s, I’m curious, what does harvest look like at your household? I mean, it has to be kind of crazy . [00:11:58] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: It is pretty chaotic. Um, , yeah, I think that’s a question I often get, um, my. I think that was one of the moments of panic when I found out that I was, uh, pregnant with our first son is who’s now nine, almost 10. [00:12:15] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And I was really like, how am I gonna do this? Having, uh, worked harvest and, you know, you spend a lot of hours. Um, but my aunts and uncle, um, growing up, they. retired really young in their, uh, mid fifties and never, um, had children of their own and kind of were our, my brothers and I, uh, second parents. And so, um, I remember having, um, yeah, a breakdown to be real about it. [00:12:46] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I was like, how am I gonna do this? And they said, well, we’ll come out and we will help you. And they have done this now for 10 years. They come and, um, help take care of the kids during harvest, which. a huge help. I can’t, yeah, it’s such a gift. Um, and I think I get that question a lot from other, um, women who are in the industry who are younger. [00:13:11] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Like, how do you have a family and how can you give. Um, everything to your job and then still do it. And I, I, I guess my advice is like, find your community in your village. Um, it’s not, it may not always be like an aunt or uncle from, um, that can dedicate, you know, three months to come and help take care of the kids. [00:13:34] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: But there are people that will help you and I think you just have to work, um, smarter and also set some boundaries, right? Um, so. Yeah, it becomes easier. Um, yeah, certainly as they get older, but it is, it’s madness. But I think a lot of times, um, throughout, you know, the 10 years since we’ve been doing this with children, um, my husband and I and Griffin, we’ve worked out a system where, um, you know, somebody can take them to school and if we need. [00:14:07] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Somebody can pick them up, but we can kind of switch off. And I think that’s the benefit of communication, um, with your employer, um, and just in your team. Um, but there’s also a lot of moments where the kids are with me, um, at the, at the winery, right. And, and that is I think really great. I think. They get to see what I do. [00:14:34] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: They get to, um, be a part of it. I actually now pay them to come for great. So , once my oldest is very into it, he’s doing some pump overs this harvest. Um, that’s awesome. But. I, I like that they see what I do. And it’s not just this idea that like, mom goes to work and we don’t see her for, you know, 10 weeks. [00:14:56] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: It’s more like, okay, they’re involved in the process in some way or another. Um, and my youngest, William, I had right before. . Um, we started like four and a half weeks before we started picking for Sparkling in 2016. And so, um, Stoler was just so amazing. They were like, okay. You know, he was strapped to me and, um, I think our interns that year got a, um, got a lesson in holding newborn babies. [00:15:30] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, in addition to. In addition to learning, you know, our techniques for winemaking because it’s like, okay, I need to go pee, hold my baby for a second. . Yeah. So I feel like it’s. Yeah. No, it is [00:15:48] A.J. Weinzettel: very valuable. And you’ve been very fortunate throughout your career. Like, you know, you worked with Anna, Matt Singer at Archery Summit. [00:15:54] A.J. Weinzettel: Mm-hmm. , you know, and a lot of other women and mm-hmm. , you know, you are, you’re setting quite the example yourself out there, you know, in, in the community, you know, as part of women in wine, and that’s just mm-hmm. quite a, um, quite a path that, that you’re putting out there. So, you know, congratulations for that. [00:16:13] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Oh, that’s, that’s really kind, I think. Um, Yeah, I think when I, um, joined Women in Wine, it was really important for me to, um, pay it forward. And I, like you said, I’ve been incredibly, uh, lucky and very, um, supported by, um, a lot of women in this community. Um, and I’m in, um, not only from, you know, Anna and then Melissa Spur who. [00:16:45] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And I think one thing with Melissa, she, um, really set the tone for being able to have a family, um, at Stoler. And, um, I think that was really important straight away. And I think about that now in, um, a role that can, you know, usher, um, my team if they, when they, if they decide to have a family. Um, but, you know, um, it’s about again, Communication and setting realistic expectations. [00:17:15] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And I, um, but now going forward. You know, there’s still only about 20% of women in, uh, decision making roles, um, in the valley, certainly in the wine making. Um, and there’s, I think even less in, you know, the very top in terms of, you know, presence and um, of organizations. And so that was what really dreaming of women of wine. [00:17:37] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: There’s still work to be done, but, um, because I’ve been so incredibly supportive, supported, it was time to give back and create space and. , you know, help with the momentum of women and wine. So yeah, I think another part of it, you know, I’m in a tasting group with Anna, Matt Singer, uh, she, Francis Louisa Ponzi, Lynn Penner, Ash Win, uh, Peterson Nuri and Gina Hennon. [00:18:05] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And it started off as like, I think we called it like a, um, what do we call it? Like we call it, I don’t even know, tasting group. It’s had many iterations. Um, We wanted to, and we even did like a tasting for women in production, um, to have a round table to see, you know, what the issues that women are up against today. [00:18:31] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: You know, when I was first working at Archery Summit, um, I was going to unload a truck and, um, One of the drivers were like, is there somebody else can who can do it? Even before I stepped on to the forklift and I was like, excuse me, no, that would be me. Um, and I’m, I was wondering, and we had talked about it and I know that like, um, the other ladies in my taste group had face kind of similar, uh, prejudices and. [00:19:06] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Or preconceived notions and it kind of hardens you a little bit. I was like, is that still the case? Have we progressed further than that? And there was, there was some talk. I think, um, there’s a lot more women getting into the industry and so we want to create a forum to see what they faced. And I think the number, one of the, one of the issues I think was like, again, how do you have a family? [00:19:29] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: But I don’t think that, um, Like women can’t drive forklifts or, you know, fix heavy machinery or anything like that. I mean, honestly, I can’t fix heavy machinery, but I knew who to call. If I need to fix it, I can rewire a plug. [00:19:46] A.J. Weinzettel: Well, and I’m sure that, you know, if you really wanted to, you could probably fix heavy machinery if that’s It’s true. [00:19:52] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Yes, that’s true. I can figure it out. Yes. But yeah, no, there’s, um, there’s still room but for improvement and so I think, um, just providing resources. I think what drew me into women and wine is that it was actionable. It’s like, let’s, um, figure out how, you know, we can get more women in room to and men allies, um, uh, to. [00:20:20] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Provide networking so people can talk to each other, and then also the resources and the information. And so yeah, it’s still, um, it’s still growing. And so now we at Women Wine have the mentorship program, which is really great. So it actually, um, pairs a couple people together, um, a couple times a year. [00:20:41] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And then you have the opportunity to form relationships and. , you know, have really great, you know, full interactions. So Yeah. Yeah. There’s, there’s so much happening [00:20:52] A.J. Weinzettel: there. There is so much happening and it’s, I think it’s a great organization. But I’m, I’m curious, is there any, um, up and coming superstars that we need to be aware of? [00:21:02] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Oh goodness. There are so many up and coming. Superstor Superstar. Um, I think, um, there’s, You know, Julia Christo at Ponzi, she is doing her own little sparkling label. Um, and she is, she’s growing. I think, um, there’s a lot of really thoughtful women in the industry. Um, I mean, Cho Wines, I’m sure you’ve seen them out there. [00:21:31] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: They’re doing great things. It’s a husband, wife team, um, envious of their marketing . They’re doing so great. . Um, but yeah, no, I know it will come to me, but there’s, um, so many wonderful women that are, um, shaping the landscape right now in the Ette Valley, and so, oh yeah. Well, I’m, I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful that, you know, that will break, will break. [00:21:56] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: maybe parody, I don’t know, in the next 10 years. We’ll see. Yeah. [00:21:59] A.J. Weinzettel: No, that, that would be actually mm-hmm. . Yeah, that would be great. Um, I, I think you’ve said something in the past of something like, uh, being a gym, a Gemini, you have like a million things running around in your head and, you know, you’re a collector of ideas. [00:22:15] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah. You know? Are there two or three things of, you know, ideas that are currently floating around in your head that you want to share? [00:22:22] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Oh, gosh, that’s a good question. I think there’s always ideas. Um, when I think what benefits me as a, um, as a Jennifer Gemini, um, and is that, I mean, you should see how many tabs I have open on my Chrome browser right now. [00:22:43] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: It’s pretty amazing. But, um, maybe , it’s that. , we have the ability to take and process information, um, from all different facets. So constantly thinking of like, I don’t know anything from like what we’re gonna cook for dinner tonight to the kids schedules, to um, you know, we’re getting ready to bottle. Um, I don’t know. [00:23:12] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I, at this moment, um, because it’s earlier in the week, I am kind of in survival mode, but there’s a lot of things rattling around. Um, I’m programming chair for Women in wine, um, which, um, co-chair now I have the lovely Meg Ordaz who’s helping. Um, and I’m thinking a lot about, um, I kind of go to sleep thinking about what are the hot topics. [00:23:38] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: So, um, we are looking at for 2023 and, um, always, I’m always looking at like the news and the media, um, trying to see what voices we need to amplify. Um, and so that’s kind of percolating right now and it, I kind of like this kind of cocoon time. . I think also as a Gemini, I tend to overbook myself on a regular basis. [00:24:05] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Oh no, I’m all, it’s, it’s great. It’s just how I operate. Um, whereas my husband is a little bit more, it’s like, let’s just stay in. And it’s like, no, we’re gonna go here and we’re gonna do this, and then this weekend we’re doing this. Um, and I’ve really leaned into the slowing down in January. Um, in fact, I’m doing a damp January pretty close to dry, but, um, and so it’s been good to sit and kind of incubate and think about, um, everything ahead of me. [00:24:37] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Yeah. Um, and that I feel like, um, is something that. I’ve gotten a little bit better at as I’ve gotten older. Um, but yeah. [00:24:49] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah, I, I can only imagine it’s, there’s always a million things going on. And just to slow down for just a little bit, it’s, it is nice, but, you know mm-hmm. at other times it’s, it’s hard. [00:24:59] A.J. Weinzettel: Yep. [00:24:59] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: It’s really hard. Yeah. Yeah. No, so I mean, I think I’m just now, uh, thinking about what’s ahead of me in the, this upcoming year and it will be, um, . Yeah. Really great. Um, we’re doing a lot. We kind of settled into our, our wines that we’re making at Stoler. Um, and just looking at working with the vineyard, how we, uh, uh, how we continue to farm that, those sections and kind of bring, uh, , these wines, um, continue to elevate them. [00:25:34] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so it’s nice that we’ve kinda established a portfolio. And so yeah, it’s, it’s a good time to be reflective. And then also, um, I over vintage a lot of wines, so this is a time where we’re bottling and getting ready. Um, and then moving into, we’ll move right into, um, Taraji in the next few months. So, um, we’re, I was like, oh goodness. [00:26:01] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Looking at the calendar, like, we’re gonna have to start thinking about blends, um, in the near future. So I, yep. It goes fast. It’s, [00:26:09] A.J. Weinzettel: it So are, are you getting, making any plans in there, you know, for, for travel? Because I know that you have, like, I think you have like, are, are Africa and Antarctica on your, on your bucket list of places to travel? [00:26:22] A.J. Weinzettel: I mean, [00:26:22] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I wish I was gonna, um, um, Antarctica or Africa. Not this year, I am going to France. I tend to go to, I try, um, to go to a, uh, champagne tasting every year in, uh, called Terry Vag. It’s an and, uh, it is, um, remarkable. You taste, uh, Wines Clair. Um, and then the current release and it’s in the cathedral dos and it is just, um, remarkable. [00:26:58] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I started going with a friend of mine who lives, um, in over there, um, and who is now in the kind of distributing side in France for Grower Champaign. And she was an intern actually here in Oregon in 2007. And we became very close. And so. one year in 2011, I was working, um, for, uh, I was over there for about a month, um, working with Riak Les, who’s a French consultant that I’ve had the great pleasure of working with and working, um, for in over the years and, As it happened in 2011, um, if you recall, there was a massive Icelandic volcano eruption that pretty much paralyzed, uh, the air trouble. [00:27:53] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so we, uh, we got, um, I got stuck over there and so I just stayed with, uh, my friend Marie Pascal, and we, I dunno. When she knows pretty much everybody, um, in, uh, the Champaign region. And we just went to tastings and as it happened, there was the second tasting of, um, kind of collective of this Terry VA tasting that was put on by, you know, shores, laval, and um, um, Apar, and, um, gosh, there’s so many. [00:28:31] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, and it was kind of this forum where they’re like, we need to bring trade to this region. And there was, and it was in a smaller hotel in Desi. Um, and of course, um, like Peter, Liam was supposed to be there, but he got trapped in, in New York because of the volcano. But he was pretty, he is very close with my friend Marie. [00:28:50] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And, um, You know, because I was still trapped there. He finally made it back and I just remember drinking, uh, one night, drinking, you know. Spark or champagne bottles without any labels. And he is like, oh, I think this is this producer, um, and I think it’s this, and it’s from this, and this tastes like this. [00:29:14] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And then she would kind of look at the bottom of the cork or do something. She’s like, oh my God. Of course, of course you would. It is just, it was one of those, you know, four o’clock in the morning nights where you’re just like, this is, this is. , you know, one of those moments that you can’t forget. [00:29:31] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah, no, it’s just, it’s un Yeah, no, it sounds like it’s completely unreal. [00:29:35] A.J. Weinzettel: That’s fascinating. [00:29:37] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: It was incredible. Um, I cannot, . I, I mean, I would love to be able to tell Grower Champagne in a way. Um, but I don’t, I don’t have that ability. Um, not yet anyway. But, um, I go to this tasting, or at least I try to every year, um, in April. So I’m gonna go do that. I’m gonna, uh, pop over to Burgundy and, um, see CCOs and see some friends and, um, and then I’m gonna, , uh, go to Italy to see a friend who’s, uh, shooting a cookbook at the moment. [00:30:11] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: She’s a food and wine photographer, and so she’s doing, um, a cookbook in the Alps. And so, and oh yeah, that’s, that’s the only thing I was [00:30:21] A.J. Weinzettel: gonna ask. When is that cookbook coming out? I’m like, what, what are the details? [00:30:25] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, so the cookbook is coming out, I believe, at the beginning of 2024. It’s Spain. Um, it is, Um, by an author Meredith. [00:30:38] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, she did, oh my gosh, I should know her last name. Um, she’s remarkable. She has a cookbook that’s already come out, um, I think it’s Alpine Cooking. Um, she lives in, um, northern Italy. Um, she’s, I believe she’s Canadian. And then she’s, um, been living, I think she married, uh, an Italian gentleman and, um, has always. [00:31:01] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: an amazing, um, chef. So the first one, um, I’ll send you the link. It’s just gorgeous, but my friend has always been, um, a part of the production on that. So yeah, I’m excited. And then other than that, who knows? I think, um, I don’t know what else the, the rest of the year I’m holding space for, um, you know, some, some weddings that I’ve. [00:31:28] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: In Queens about, so, right. We’ll see . [00:31:31] A.J. Weinzettel: So are a, as you’re traveling over to Burgundy or France and whatnot, are you keeping track of like the, the farmer market schedules to make sure your, your car doesn’t get trapped in ? [00:31:42] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I’ve learned, I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve definitely learned my lesson. That was, uh, such a funny, such a funny moment and a moment of panic. [00:31:54] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: but in true French fashion, you know, the market went on, um, and just like surrounded this cute little pojo. Um, I did find that picture the other day, so it is so funny. Yeah, I do, I I’ve, I’ve definitely learned my lesson. Um, unfortunately, um, yeah, I try to park way out of the way these days. [00:32:17] A.J. Weinzettel: I can, I can only imagine. [00:32:19] A.J. Weinzettel: So, I mean, locally are, are there any certain farmer markets that, that you like to attend and go? [00:32:25] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Oh, I’m, we’re fortunate here in McMinville that, um, we have a great farmer’s market. Um, I believe it starts, um, in the spring. It’s on Thursdays and it goes through October. Um, so yeah, that I usually go there. [00:32:41] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And then we’re, uh, also in McMinville, we have Mac Market and they have even Pole farms, which is a local, um, farm that provides incredible produce and they, um, The, um, the refrigerator case full of all of the, um, all of the, you know, produce from there. So, um, right. We’re so lucky out here for, in McMinville and in the Willamette Valley because if you need, um, and you’re inclined to shop for fresh meat and produce, um, you don’t have to look very. [00:33:17] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah. Yeah. Well, most definitely. We are very, very fortunate. Um, I have to tell you the other, I don’t know, it was a couple weeks ago. I was out and about on, uh, Alberta Street and mm-hmm. , just on a whim there was a wine bar, and I, uh, went into the wine bar and, you know, uh, as I walked in, the person behind the, the, the bar was, uh, Pierre. [00:33:39] A.J. Weinzettel: And it used to be the, the tasting. , um, guy at, uh, at hollering mm-hmm. . And I was like, oh, hi Pierre. How you doing? And, you know, then we got to talking and then I looked at the wine list, you know, by the glass was mm-hmm. , your 2018 Dolores Pinot Noir. And I’m like, holy cow. Two coincidences in the same spot. [00:34:00] A.J. Weinzettel: That’s just, that’s amazing. , but your label, call me Dolores. Can you tell me mm-hmm. , like what was inspiration behind it and kind of, you know, where are you going with it? Yeah. [00:34:12] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, so yeah, we, um, my husband and I started this project, um, about. , I guess it would’ve been almost in 2014. So a while ago, and we started making Pinot no. [00:34:27] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, and, and also a little bit of sparkling. Um, and it’s really taken a while for everything to come to fruition. Being that having this be kind of our, um, I guess it, it right now, it’s a side hustle. Um, it’s something that we would love to see grow. Um, , you know, we really wanted something that was, you know, a combination of both of us. [00:34:52] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so, um, the 2018 is from the open claim vineyards and, um, we, we really just enjoyed that vineyard a lot. And so, but as it happens about the sparkling. We were asked, I guess it would’ve been in 2015 to share an acre of Pinot Go Blanc, um, with, you know, Chad stock. Um, at the time I was owned by Dr. Zko. Um, and so for Zebo veneers, um, and then, uh, drew VOT took some of the pinot go, and then they, they’re like, you should, you should take this, you know, and then we’ll all put it under our own labels. [00:35:34] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, and then my friend, um, Andrew Smith was like, oh, of course you should make sparkling. And I was like, well, I should make sparkling. Yes. You know, and then Griffin and I like, it’s just money. Let’s just go ahead and do it. And, um, and so we did. And, um, of course it takes a, a little bit longer, uh, to to, to create, um, um, traditional methods sparking wine. [00:36:01] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so, you know, Came out a lot later than everybody else’s when we’re trying to all co-promote. Um, but it’s just been this wonderful project. It also took a while to arrive at the name, um, and as it happened, Um, I was kind of thinking about different names and much like naming anything, um, with a partner, it’s incredibly difficult. [00:36:24] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: It’s like naming a child. Um, although we did not have the same kind of deadline that we needed to, um, when we’re naming our children and, um, I came up with the name Dolores for a number of reasons. So Dolores, um, well one, when we were getting ready to design our labels, um, my mom passed away in 20, the end of 2016 and, um, rather suddenly, and I knew I wanted something that was kind of, that, uh, resonated with both her legacy and with mine. [00:37:01] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And. I remember the story of when she was traveling in living in Spain in, I think it was 1974. Um, my godmother is, uh, from Spain and so she was over there visiting her family and, um, for I think a good portion of the summer. And, um, and traveling around. And my mother’s name was Charlene. Um, Charlene Payne. [00:37:28] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And. , you know, that name just didn’t resonate with the family. Um, they started calling her Dolores, so delore meaning pain in Spanish, and so it was her alias. Um, so when I was thinking about that, I was like, well, you know, my name is Kate Payne Brown. Pain is still a big part of my identity. Um, and it was also this idea of, you know, having this alias, having this. [00:37:55] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: kind of alternate personality of sorts and, um, the sensitive adventure and kind of finding something new. And so that’s how we decided to name it Dolores. Um, and it’s, it’s been great. You know, we make, um, a. You know, we have a vin non vintage, uh, Pinot Goose Blanc and a vintage right now in 2015, we’re gonna have, um, another vintage of Pinot Blanc or Goose Blanc coming out. [00:38:23] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, and then we are also getting some chardonnay from the Prosad Vineyard in the Ola Amity. Um, and then we’ll see where we gulf with that. Right now we’re only making a total of you. Two to 300 cases. So it’s not a large amount of wine. I think, um, in order to see it grow, um, and really have, um, somebody dedicate more time to it, um, that will be a conversation in the future, but I’m enjoying having it out there. [00:38:52] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: It’s, it’s fun to see. people’s response to it. Um, right. I’ve firmly planted my flag in the sparkling wine world. You know, a long, a long time ago, uh, when I first left. Uh, um, my graduate program was like, you know, I just wanna, my husband working for Petaluma, they focused on sparkling as well, and I was like, I think I just wanna make sparkling wine. [00:39:17] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And there was, you know, an air of condescension when somebody was like, oh yeah, yeah, sure you are uhhuh, , . And um, like, you don’t understand how expensive it is or how hard it is. And I was like, okay, yeah. You know, I’m not for a challenge. Um, But it is, it takes a lot more resources, it takes a more time. Um, but I feel like the end result’s incredibly rewarding. [00:39:42] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: So I’m here for it. I’m ready. Um, and I really enjoy making sparkling wine, um, and I really enjoy drinking it. Um, so we’ll see where it goes. I think the, the story is still being developed and I’m, I’m hopeful for the future, and I’m really hopeful. , you know, the recognition of Oregon sparkling wine. You know, I think it’s a hot topic at the moment and there’s a lot of people getting into it, and there’s just so much, um, potential in the valley for it. [00:40:14] A.J. Weinzettel: So there, there’s, yeah, there there is, there is so much. But I, I want to go back a little bit. So Pinot Guage, is that how you say it? [00:40:21] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Pinot. [00:40:23] A.J. Weinzettel: Gouge, [00:40:24] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I’m sorry, I’m sorry. So sorry. That’ss. Ok. [00:40:27] A.J. Weinzettel: If, if, if I remember correctly, the story behind, there’s like, what, like an acre or two, somewhere planted of, of Pinot gge and you know, you got roped into it. [00:40:38] A.J. Weinzettel: And then you also mentioned Andrew Smith. Is that the, um, I’m, I was trying to look up notes. I couldn’t find it enough. But is was that the former winemaker at Antigua? ? [00:40:52] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Mm-hmm. . Yeah. Okay. Okay. He was working with Andrew Voigt or with, um, drew Voy, drew Voigt at the time. And, um, yeah, they were getting fruit from there. [00:41:02] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: So there was actually, I love like the full circle moment, but, um, these cuttings were taken as like the lore goes, cuttings were taken from Andre G’s property. So an Grge, I think, recognized that there was a mutant amongst his pinot. No. And he propagated it on his property in Burgundy. And, um, and I, I mean, believe he did this, um, maybe in the fifties and cuttings were taken, and I could be completely wrong with that date. [00:41:35] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, but cuttings were taken. At some point implanted at Arcas, um, at Archery Summit at the time. And then when Arcas was pulled out, all the white wines, uh, white bridals were pulled out. Uh, before that happened, cuttings were taken from that planting and planted, um, at the Zebo Vineyard. . Um, and so that’s kind of how that worked. [00:42:00] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And um, you know, I had never heard of Pinot Gush and, um, they were like, oh, it’s really cool. We should all split this. And I was like, I again, I’m always up for an adventure. Let’s do this. Right? And so, um, yeah, it’s such an interesting, interesting varietal. Um, A little bit more minerally. It’s not exactly like Pinot Blanc, it’s kind of got this, um, sometimes has, you know, this not green as an underwrite, but this greener characteristic. [00:42:34] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, and I was really fortunate because, uh, Lee Breath was harming that, who I worked with, um, at our Tree Summit. So, and then, and Lee and I had the great pleasure of working together for over six years at, um, archery Summit. And so when I found out that she was farming, uh, the Zco, the Zibo Vineyard home, and I was like, well, I’m gonna make sparkling out of this. [00:43:01] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And, um, let’s, let’s. Leave it cropped, um, pretty heavily. And then let’s leave a lot of leaves. And she’s like, all right. She’s like, your section’s the easiest to farm . So, um, and so having her there, um, really kind of solidified the idea of that we should do this. And, um, we did. And it was really wonderful to be able to work with that through. [00:43:27] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And, um, yeah, she. Just made it really easy and possible for that Right. In that world. Um, but yeah, and it was just really, I think it was Andrew who was, when they were looking for a fourth to split the acre, um, he was like, this, this is totally you. And so I definitely credit him for, um, and which I think I wouldn’t have thought of that. [00:43:55] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I’m glad he did. [00:43:56] A.J. Weinzettel: Mm-hmm. . Yeah. No, that, that is awesome. It sounds like he’s doing his, you know, just recently left antique one. Mm-hmm. and is doing like vineyard management or something. Now, if I, if I heard [00:44:07] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: correctly, it’s, um, yeah, he’s doing some sort of consulting. Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah. He’s doing great. [00:44:16] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah. [00:44:16] A.J. Weinzettel: No, that, that’s awesome. I’m glad to hear it. Um, I mean, you have so much going on. Uh, I’m, I’m, but I’m curious, you know, as I was going through all your stuff, so do you and your husband take Harley rides anymore? [00:44:29] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: No. I mean, we still have that Harley, no. Um, but it, it became a little bit, uh, difficult once we had kids. [00:44:39] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: So I feel like it’s harder to do. , um, at the, the, in the same moment. Um, so no, I think he still enjoys writing it, but um, there’s just doesn’t present the opportunity as much. Um, and so we don’t, we don’t do it that often. We, um, we are a winter sports family. We ski a lot and he, he’s always been a surfer, so he is, uh, trying to get the kids into that. [00:45:06] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, but no, it’s not, it’s not as prevalent as it used to be for. . [00:45:13] A.J. Weinzettel: That’s fair. I mean, with everything that you have going on through your head and you’re constantly thinking of stuff mm-hmm. and ideas. Mm-hmm. , you know, are you thinking, you know, 20 or 30 years down the road of what kind of legacy you wanna leave for your, for your two boys? [00:45:28] A.J. Weinzettel: I mean, [00:45:28] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I some , I think, uh, one of them wants to be, right now he says he wants to be a winemaker, but I think it’s because the winery always has snacks and the forklifts are cool. Um, and so I, I would like to leave them a legacy of, you know, we’ve been so fortunate in, um, building a community and connections without, throughout the wine world, um, globally. [00:45:57] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And so I would love it if they wanted to go do harvest somewhere and um, hopefully Dolores will still be around and bigger and then they can, uh, take over that and have some ownership in that. Even though, you know, there’s, it’s incredibly hard to have, um, a winery and a wine brand. Um, and so you have to really love it. [00:46:19] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, I wouldn’t wanna pigeonhole them in any way, but if they do love it, I would love to leave them. Um, , some sort of lasting, um, legacy of sorts. So we’ll see. I mean, they’re still so young. Um, right, right now. Um, My oldest wants to be a professional soccer player thanks to messy in the World Cup. And so I, I’m great. [00:46:43] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Great. My youngest wants to, um, be a veterinarian, um, slash rockstar, so, you know, we’ll see, we’ll see what happens. Um, but I would, I would like to leave a, a legacy of some sort. So, I mean, that’s the ultimate goal. . [00:47:01] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah. No, I, I can only imagine you’ve, you know, you’ve set quite an example of being able to. [00:47:07] A.J. Weinzettel: You know, travel the world, see a bunch of places, you know, still keep in contact with people, you know, over multiple, multiple years. And, you know, just kudos to you for everything that you’re, that you’re doing and setting such a great example for your two boys. [00:47:23] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Oh, that’s really kind, you know? Um, I think I, I love connecting people in places and ideas and, um, yeah, I think that is one of the most rewarding parts of, you know, being a part of the wine industry. [00:47:38] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I mean, having, making a bottle of wine and crafting something and having that. be able to be told over multiple vintages, multiple years, like opening a bottle from 2016. And I can think about, you know, having, um, my son William, you know, strapped to me at that time. It really is this time capsule and so I love that part of it. [00:48:01] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: But I also like the sense of community and I really like the, um, I really. Enjoy this idea of traveling and talking to people about what they do and there is, there is such an amazing. , um, well back. I think winemaking draws an adventurous spirit and when you tie that to the land and the community and the, um, culture around it, there’s so much to learn and explore. [00:48:31] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And, um, I think as winemakers and people in the industry, we’re always learning and everything is so dynamic, so, Yeah, I look forward to the future. I think there’s a lot, there’s a lot to of a story that still needs to be told. [00:48:49] A.J. Weinzettel: I, I totally agree. Uh, have some rapid fire questions and then, you know, we’ll get you on your day if that works. [00:48:56] A.J. Weinzettel: Okay, that’s [00:48:56] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: great. [00:48:58] A.J. Weinzettel: Uh, favorite artist to listen to during harvest. [00:49:02] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Oh, uh, it’s changed. I think though I do have this playlist that I made when I was at Archery Summit that, um, songs to Fermento and it’s got a lot of like Al Al Green on it. Um, Berry White, you know. Um, and we did all, you know, native ferments there and follow, brought that over to Stoler and so I love putting it on that playlist. [00:49:28] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, although these days, um, I’m, I, I have less and less control over what gets played in the winery and I feel like, um, Each year, um, there’s a new group of interns that feel really strongly about one type of genre of music, and that’s what get played. Um, and then I’m like, great, whatever, whatever keeps everybody motivated. [00:49:52] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: But occasionally I’ll slip in my, uh, my songs deferment too, and it brings back a lot of joy. [00:49:59] A.J. Weinzettel: I can only imagine. Mm-hmm. , uh, your favorite indulgent food. [00:50:04] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Oh goodness. Um, I love food. Uh, I think my favorite indulgent food, um, I don’t even know that it would be indulgent, but I think a really great sushi mikai, um, paired with, you know, some incredible wines. [00:50:28] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I, I. . I think it’s indulgent in price rather than , than like calories. But um, yeah, I love that. [00:50:37] A.J. Weinzettel: Okay. Uh, your harvest notes are they did digital or handwritten? [00:50:43] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: I’ve moved to digital. I write everything on, um, my iPod with a Apple pencil and I use the, um, my everything. I use notability. . Um, and that way I can file it a different way. [00:50:59] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: You know, I had volumes of notebooks and it was just hard to keep track of. And I find with my brain thinking about a lot of different things at once, um, you know, it comes with age to figure out the way to like better work with. what you have. And I really like, and it was actually Julia Coney, uh, who was like, you should try this. [00:51:19] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: And I was like, oh my God, that makes so much sense. And so, yeah, all my tasting notes, all of, um, my notes throughout harvest, um, are digital. [00:51:29] A.J. Weinzettel: Nice. Mm-hmm. , uh, if you could choose a superpower, what would it [00:51:33] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: be? My gosh, I’m asked that all the time about my kids. They’re in that, they’re in that. Um, I think if I could choose a superpower, um, it would, um, I, I always, I think it’s, it would be to fly because I, um, I’m always racing from one part to the other, so it would be really helpful to be able to get to places faster. [00:51:59] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Yeah. It’s just completely practicality. Um, although, because I, um, I would, you know, to be able to swim underwater and like, you know, go, uh, scuba diving without needing, um, you know, oxygen would be incredible. So [00:52:18] A.J. Weinzettel: that, that would be, so yes, that would be, it is very seren underneath the water. Mm-hmm. , uh, do you have a favorite superhero? [00:52:28] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, do I, I think, um, Well, my oldest is going through the Marvel Universe at the moment, and so, um, we just went to see, uh, the new Black Panther, um, over the holidays and it was just such a, Great movie. I mean, truthfully, I grew up with, you know, as I said, I’m a triplet. I have two brothers. I grew up reading comic books, um, and in the Marvel Universe, um, and DC with them from a pretty young age. [00:53:04] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: So I’m, I’m pretty excited to be able to go share these movies with my son. Um, but I really enjoyed, uh, um, the Black Panther, and so I guess that would be my favorite at the moment. . [00:53:16] A.J. Weinzettel: Okay. Very nice. And the last question is, um, what was the last book that you read? [00:53:23] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Um, I have been on an audible kick lately. [00:53:27] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Mm-hmm. . Um, I can be doing something and reading, um, a book or listening to a book at the same time. And, um, the book that I’m almost finished with is Michelle Obama’s, the Light We Carry, and it’s the perfect book to start a. . Yeah. [00:53:45] A.J. Weinzettel: I’ve heard amazing things about that book. Mm-hmm. really, really good things. [00:53:48] A.J. Weinzettel: That’s [00:53:48] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: incredible. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Um, and then I’m, uh, my oldest son, uh, likes to fall asleep, two books, so I’ve been listening to, uh, revisiting the Games and Harry Potter with him, so it’s good. We’ve reached, we’ve moved on past like Disney phase, so it’s, it’s been fun. [00:54:11] A.J. Weinzettel: That’s, that’s awesome. That’s great. [00:54:13] A.J. Weinzettel: Well, those are, that’s all the questions that I have for today. Is there anything that you’d like to bring up or ask me or [00:54:19] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: anything? No. You know, this was great. Thank you for making it. Um, you know, it was uncomfortable to sit down and chat. I knew it would be, so I really appreciate it. [00:54:30] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah, no, I appreciate your time and again, I, I can’t thank you enough for taking the time out of, out of your day, so thank you so. [00:54:36] Kate Payne Brown of Stoller Family Estates: Thank you. Have a great day, [00:54:38] A.J. Weinzettel: aj. You too. Thank you.