When the Fawns Arrive and ICE Follows
Even in rural Oregon, immigration raids disrupt families—and stir unexpected solidarity
ICE raids in cities have gotten more attention, but they’ve also come to farming communities like ours. Here in Yamhill County, Oregon, ICE detained Moises Sotelo, shown above. He’s a Mexican immigrant who owns a local vineyard management company. Sotelo has been working with local vineyards for more than two decades and even won an industry award a few years ago. A father of three, he’s a pillar of the community. (No conflict here: He has never worked with us.)
Yamhill is a conservative county that voted for Donald Trump by a six-point margin over Kamala Harris, and concern about immigration was a reason. But voters seem to have thought that Trump would go after gang members and strengthen the border, not grab someone like Sotelo and thus break up a family and destroy a small business. So there has been an outpouring of support for him, with 2,000 people contributing $135,000 to a gofundme to cover the family’s legal expenses.
If mass deportations go ahead, who will harvest blueberries? Who will milk cows? And do we really want to break up families on a massive scale, for Pew reports that 79 percent of the children of undocumented immigrants are U.S. citizens? It should be possible to tighten the border and deport lawbreakers, while creating a path to citizenship for people who have been here for decades and behaved lawfully. None of this is easy, but it’s better than detaining people like Sotelo and destroying families and businesses.
Time for something cheerier, so we interrupt this newsletter for a new fawn born on Kristof Farms:
That’s from one of our wildlife cameras just above our apple orchard. We first saw the fawn shortly after birth; now she’s better able to get around. Her mom, the doe, is very attentive and constantly sniffing the air, presumably for the cougars and bears that also show up on the wildlife camera. Here’s a video in which you can see the protective mom:
We’re inviting people to Kristof Farms again, for wine and cider tastings — and maybe even a Bambi sighting! We’ll have our popular Pinot and Perspective wine tastings on Saturday July 19 at 4:30 p.m. (you can also attend Yamhill’s Derby Day, our small town fair, that same day) and Sunday July 20 at 1 p.m., 2:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. We’re announcing them here in this newsletter, so these spots are now wide open — but book now before they disappear.
These Pinot and Perspective tastings are groups of up to 20 people. We all introduce ourselves and then talk a bit about the farm as we taste a series of wines and ciders. The tastings are $50 per person, including drinks and snacks, but that can be applied to a purchase of a half-case (six bottles) or more of wine or cider or to a new membership in our wine club or cider club.
During the tastings, we take you on a walking tour of the vineyard, and Nick and Sheryl answer questions throughout. Some are about farm management practices or the best wine corks; others are about Ukraine, Sudan, Donald Trump and Gaza/Iran. We’re happy to talk about whatever’s on your mind.
We also have a few spots left for our previously announced tastings for this coming weekend, both Saturday and Sunday afternoon, June 28 and 29. Email us at info@kristoffarms.com if you want to try to squeeze in and we may be able to find a slot. And if you have a group of 10 or more, we can try to arrange a special tasting on the farm by appointment; again, email info@kristoffarms.com.
If these dates don’t work out, you’re always welcome to come by the Carlton Winemakers Studio, of which we’re a part: It has a lovely tasting room in Carlton, Oregon, open every day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can taste our wines and those of other outstanding local winemakers; ask bartender Nick George for suggestions.
What a busy June it has been on the farm. Our wines and ciders alike won Nobel Prizes — well, not quite, but pretty close. Here’s the rundown:
Wine Spectator declared that “Chardonnays from Oregon’s Willamette Valley are proving they’re among the best in the world” and then listed eight “outstanding Chardonnays” — with ours No. 1 on the list. Our vines are blushing.
The Oregonian had a “readers choice” vote to choose the best wine brands in the entire state of Oregon, and Kristof Farms was one of the top three.
Wine critic Paul Gregutt just rated our new releases for his Northwest Wine Guide substack (which we recommend). He awarded our 2023 Pinot Noir a 94, our 2023 Chardonnay a 93, and our 2024 Rosé a 92.
Wine Spectator awarded a rating of 93 to both our 2022 Chardonnay and our 2022 Pinot Noir.
Our ciders won a series of awards at the Cidercraft competition. Our Brut cider won platinum, the top prize; our Noir cider (a co-ferment with Pinot Noir skins) won gold; and our Reserve cider won silver. For those of you familiar with wines but not ciders, do try our ciders! A shout-out to Adam Campbell, the winemaker who made these highly rated wines, and to Christine Bauman Walter, our cidermaker.
This is a labor of love for us, because we are enchanted by this three-generation farm that Nick grew up on. Sure, it’s less bucolic when the power goes out or a bear knocks down our fence, but then along comes an enchanting scene that melts our hearts. We took this photo the other day while on a morning run through the Pinot Noir vineyard here at Kristof Farms:
So we hope you’ll enjoy the fruits of Kristof Farms (or should we say the elixirs?), and that at least some of you will be able to come out for a tasting.
If you know people who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward it and tell them they can sign up for it at KristofFarms.com/subscribe
Very best from all of us, including the new fawn, on Kristof Farms!
i volunteer at my local Farmers' Market and wonder when ICE will show up there. it's the cruelty of it all that hurts the heart...and the way folks are rallying around Sotelo, and others in local communities, it shows that when the issue is close to home it moves from abstract to heart. may we all find our hearts before it is too late. :(
also have appreciated you NYTs reporting on USAID
btw-i grew up down the road in Dayton same years as you.
Nicholas Kristof you are a good man who restores my faith in the possibility that there are many more like you who will weep at this story. There is so much that breaks one's heart while all this unfolds in your country and the countries which have suffered
in the wake of USAID being decimated. It is tempting not to read the news or expose oneself the the ongoing cruelty and pain which is disseminated in the U.S. I think we need to feel the pain and not inoculate ourselves