Peter Lehmann of the Barossa

I have a bottle of wine on my desk. It’s a slim bottle – only 375 ml (about 12 ½ ounces), and it’s a delightfully transparent golden color. I won it by bidding twice what it’s worth at a silent auction during my (Layman) family reunion last month.

Why did I bid twice its worth? One, because I’m such a wine neophyte that I had no idea of its worth, or even the type of wine it is; two, because the money went to a good cause: the reunion “kitty;” and three, because it was made by a vineyard called “Peter Lehmann of the Barossa.” Doesn’t that sound romantic?

It was easy to research the vineyard; a simple visit to its website told me that the vineyard is located in the beautiful Barossa Valley in South Australia. The Barossa Valley is unique in that it has never suffered an outbreak of phylloxera, which are insects that destroyed many European vineyards in the late 19th century. My wine is a 2007 Botrytis Semillon – a white wine grape that was planted by the area’s first settlers, giving it not only a long heritage in the Barossa Valley, but because the area escaped the phylloxera devastation, also making these vines some of the oldest in the world. The tasting notes proclaim it to be “luscious magic in the glass.”

This is all fascinating, if you’re interested in wine, but as I read more of the material on the site, I found that Peter Lehmann, who was born in the Barossa in 1930 (“the son of a Lutheran pastor”), founded the winery in 1979 to protect the growers of grapes from financial ruin due to the overproduction of grapes. At the time, Peter was a buyer for a multinational winemaker, and when he was ordered to “go back on his word to the growers that he would buy their crop,” he refused, and formed his own company to buy from the growers. Peter says “they were mates” and “he was not prepared to stand by and watch them go broke.”

The website says “Peter Lehmann is indeed a legend in the Australian wine industry and he is known, with affection and respect, as the ‘Baron of the Barossa’.” So I raise my glass of magic to you, Peter Lehmann, and dream about the possibility that we are related, by some magic connection to the Olde Country.

Greg Mortenson

Last night, I shook the hand of a man who's been nominated for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. His name is Greg Mortensen, and he's the author of the best-selling nonfiction book "Three Cups of Tea." Dr. Mortenson is a former mountaineer who has been building schools (primarily for girls) in Pakistan and Afghanistan for the last 10 years.

I read his book last summer and was very moved by Dr. Mortenson's courage and sacrifice. I said to myself "I'm going to make that man a quilt - he has nothing of his own, and he has given so much to the world." When I saw that he was coming to Knoxville to speak at a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization in Knoxville, I decided that I really would make a quilt for him.

I studied my store of patterns and finally decided on one called "Trip Around the World," to acknowledge his many visits to the area. I also decided to use batik fabrics, which originated in Indonesia, and today provide income to women in the islands as a cottage industry - a principle similar to that which Dr. Mortenson advocates.

After the presentation, people lined up for a book signing, including me, clutching my box containing the quilt. A half hour later, I finally reached the head of the line and told Dr. Mortenson that his book had inspired me to sew a quilt for him. He opened the box and I explained the significance of the pattern and the fabric. He then asked if I would mind if he took the quilt with him to Pakistan to give to the teachers of his schools? So it looks like my trip-around-the-world quilt will be making its own journey, on a mission for peace.

I've attached a photo of the quilt; I wish I had one of me with Dr. Mortenson, but it was getting late and the line was still long, so I didn't want to take up any more time.

It was quite a night!