"So what if the kids can quote from the 'Dogs of War' monologue or whole chunks of 'Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears,' from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar? By learning the language of Shakespeare, by internalizing the cadence of iambic pentameter, these children are opening a conduit to what I consider some of the greatest truths, the deepest wisdoms, of Western culture."

––Liz Mechem Carroll (From “Shakespeare Speaks Volumes to Children” by Liz Mechem Carroll & Sarah Bowers-Peter | Spring 2012

"There is an indefinable and deeply American quality––call it Abraham Lincoln’s 'better angels of our nature'––in building a wooden boat by hand, from scratch, and making a film about it, on film, over a long, long period of time."

“Sometimes the land grows our food and sometimes it’s majestically beautiful and there for us to enjoy. Regardless...we are responsible for it. All of our growers have the same intentions and drive for farming sustainably.”

––Lise Asimont, Director of Grower Relations

(From “Francis Ford Coppola: The Cinematic Scope of a California Winery” by Heather Sharfeddin, AVALON Winter 2011 DREAM Issue)

"Wine is like art; there is no right or wrong. ... It's all about the setting, the friends and food you are sharing it with, and the overall atmosphere and mood.”

––Annika Sorenstam

(From "Annkia Wines + Wente Estates: A Vineyard on the Right Course" by Heather Sharfeddin, AVALON Spring 2012)

"The future holds all sorts of “different” we haven’t even thought of yet. The only thing we can control is our response to that difference. No one belongs here more than you."

––Bonnie Curtis (From “Hollywood Women, A Conversation with Albert Nobbs producers Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn” by Pat McMahon | Spring 2012)

"Firenze is the Ryan Gosling of cities––quiet, charming, maybe a little cocky, and impossible not to fall in love with."

––Kira Shipway