An afternoon at Château le Gari · My quest to document our town

A year ago, my oldest left for her freshman year of college. There were a lot of changes happening in our little, rural town and I wanted to photograph it for her with the goal of creating a book of what it was like when she lived here. I thought it’d be sweet for her to have to show new friends, look through if she got homesick, and eventually, as time passed, it would help us all remember how things ‘used to be’. Somewhat not surprisingly, it never happened (the book or her being homesick), but I still have an overwhelming urge to preserve the charm and uniqueness of our little town for my children, and posterity. I haven’t been able to shake the idea since it popped into my head and as things continue to change I keep kicking myself, wishing I had photographs of how things were. So this coming year, regardless of how busy I am and how many other things I have to do, I’m finally setting out to capture ‘the Faces and Places of Marlborough, CT’ as a personal project. Perhaps it will be a graduation gift for my daughter. Or a wedding present… for my 3 year old. But I’ve started, and that’s the biggest hurdle, isn’t it?

Right down the street from us, Château le Gari just celebrated two years in business this summer!!

Ironically enough, being that this project is for my children, I started with a winery, Château le Gari. I’m not even a big wine drinker (or drinker in general, unless we’re talking about kombucha), but I just think it’s so cool that our little town has it’s very own winery! Again, no expert here, but I thought the wines were pretty tasty. And, it’s very family-friendly; the owner, Gary, welcomes both dogs and kids!! When they first opened, I went with a bunch of mom friends and it was super chill just sitting on the patio with some friends and a glass of wine while all the kids played out on the lawn amongst the grapes.

Gary is super friendly and unabashedly proud of his newest winery in Marlborough CT. Here he was showing me some of the grapes growing just beyond one of the patios (there are two!).
When we pulled in, my son says to me, “I want some of what he’s growing.” So, Gary grabbed him a bunch of red grapes to sample (I think he said they are sweeter than the green ones). Wine tasting for kids 😉
The entrance to the tasting rooms; how quaint are those doors and this whole entranceway??
Gary, in his element, talking with people at the tasting bar and sharing his love of wine.
Gary’s son just turned one and already has a wine named after him – Sweet Jesse!! He is a regular at the winery, as is evidenced by the high chair, toys, and playpen.

Now what I didn’t realize the first time I visited was that there’s a lovely little stream out back by what Gary calls the barn. Just a short walk down from the winery, this area is absolutely beautiful and a perfect spot to come hang out with kids. I brought mine down one gorgeous afternoon so I could enjoy a glass of wine, take some pictures, and let them explore. And explore they did! They toured the barn, gazebo, river, bridge, and the woods beyond!

The barn (you can see the main winery in back, to the left), gazebo, and little river out back.
The kids loved this little bridge and exploring the woods beyond.
The water is super shallow, perfect for little ones to splash around in.
My girls, relaxing on the bridge.

Looking forward to hanging out at Château le Gari’s more often and seeing how the winery grows and changes in the coming years. Thanks for the wine slushy and good conversation, Gary!

Now what shall I document next?? If you’re local, drop some suggestions in a comment below!

xo, Anna