Langman Estate’s Family Heritage

Every September, at a bungalow in Chicago, a truck full of grapes would show up and be met by my maternal grandfather and his 7 sons. The eight of them and all of the grapes would then disappear into their basement for the next 2 days. Only the sounds of laughing, arguing, singing and winemaking would be heard. These sounds and activities would grow in intensity over the next 3–4 weeks as the grapes fermented. The youngest of the siblings, 3 little girls, always believed it to be true when their big brothers claimed that, “…the wine fumes in the basement…,” was the reason they were drunk when they came up each time over the next several months. The week before each Christmas, dozens of family and friends would appear at the bungalow’s front door with empty one gallon jugs that my grandfather would happily fill with “Christmas Wine,” from the large wooden casks in the basement. He refused any payment, but the grateful visitors would always slip a $1 bill to one of the youngest sisters on the way out, which they dutifully handed over to their mother after the door closed. Those $1 bills bought Christmas presents for the dozen siblings each year.

On a much smaller and much less tumultuous level, Sue’s father and aunt, (Bud’s Block Malbec and Gracie’s Grenache), were also home winemakers. There was one very old grape vine in Sue’s childhood backyard that her and her father planted in black dirt and BBQ ashes. It thrived for decades. Each year the family would harvest the grapes from this single, but very special family vine, and press the juice through a cheesecloth into an empty 1 gallon glass wine jug. A little solution of dissolved yeast and sugar was poured in and a balloon was fastened across the mouth of the jug. This was placed under the staircase in the basement for about the next 6 weeks and when the balloon was fully inflated, voila’! They had that year’s vintage to enjoy!