Wine Making Helps Heal The Wounds Of War

It's Vine to Wine Wednesday on the Fruit Grower Report A veteran who spent years on a tour of the Middle East changes careers and becomes a winemaker .listen to Robb Zimmels fascinating story:

ZIMMEL: I called my wife on a satellite phone where I was in this wind tattered tent, I told her I have seen things that can't be unseen and I need to find something different when I get done and she understood. She said well why don't you do some wine-making. When I got back and landed on U.S. soil I went straight to the Vancouver, Washington State University campus and I did my first two years and when I couldn't do any more they said that's it, you're going to have to move so we sold our house and we picked up and moved over to the eastern side of Washington.

He finished up his last two years and graduated in 2014 with a Bachelors degree in enology and viticulture. He said during his tour it was hard to see the worst in humankind.

ZIMMEL: You kind of get jaded. You really, really do. This is a completely different environment of which I have not been accustomed to and the fact where you go to a winemakers dinner or you go to a tasting event and you're pouring out wine and there are these people that are completely invested in you, they believe in your product, they enjoy your wines, they show up with smiles on their faces and they're engaging and there's laughter and there's food and the first couple of times I was like this is completely strange for me but I'm telling you, I absolutely love it.

Not only does Rob love it! He attributes wine making as being part of his healing process.