Backstage in Wine Country

Soil. Water. Grapes. People. These are the constituent elements of Foreman Lane in Sonoma County, California. Starting at the homes and wineries of Westside Rd., Foreman Lane traverses the flat Russian River Valley to end at the river and the Healdsburg wastewater treatment plant. In between are vineyards, but no wineries, and a scattering of homes and agricultural outbuildings among the grapes. A few grass fields still exist with forage crops growing on them.

The river area is marked by a series of large ponds which are the residue of now-abandoned sand mining operations. Irrigation well houses dot the landscape and the wastewater plant pumps partially-treated effluent, too dirty to be discharged into the river, into a network of pipes to irrigate grapes throughout the valley.

Foreman Lane runs right by my studio and I got to know it well on my daily walks during the pandemic. The seasons ebb and flow with crops (mostly grapes) growing, being nurtured by hard-working field hands, struggling against the drought and being harvested.

These images of Foreman Lane and its environs are presented in three movements: (i) Before the Vines; (ii) Along the Road of Grapes; and (iii) Down by the River.