This is a beautiful picture of a woman falling in love with the vine2wine lifestyle. Her name is Wynne Briscoe. Wynne and her sister are the founders of Forever Eden, an organic skin care small business located in Southern Maryland. I found Wynne through my adventures in creating mulling wine spice packs with Yera De Herbal’s Jaime & Jason Krouk. Both sell their products through Leonardtown’s The Good Earth Natural Foods Company. I loved my adventures in working with Yera De Herbal so much that I wanted to start another adventure and Wynne’s Forever Eden is a natural match!

We are really good at composting our vineyard materials. Seeing some of the materials—like the awesomely healthy grapeseeds and the pomace—go into the compost made me think that there had to be further purpose for our leftover vineyard materials. That lead to multiple, inspiring but ultimately fruitless internet searches. Each grapeseed contains so little oil that I would need to buy heavy machinery in order to extract the healthy oil from all the seeds. I had neither room in the townie nor the money for the heavy machinery. Mustards or jelly made from the pomace seemed lackluster, plus they required an industrial kitchen and paperwork. I also checked out making cosmetics and spa treatments from our vineyard materials. Ger was really patient with the gallon bags of seeds in the freezer as I attempted different half-hearted experiments. I realized I didn’t have the talent to make my desire for vineyard cosmetics to come true. I let it go—then, several years later, I saw Yera De Herbal reference Forever Eden on Facebook.

Wynne and her sister grew up with truly sensitive skin—the likes of which made using over the counter cosmetics impossible. Wynne’s sister, in particular, would break out in rashes due to the chemicals, dyes and preservatives found in the products. Out of necessity, Wynne and her sister researched home remedies and recipes to devise their own skin care products. Once they developed skin care products that suited their needs, they realized others may like their products, as well. They tested out their materials with friends and family focus groups, giving samples and receiving feedback. Overtime, they developed a core line of products that make up the current Forever Eden collection.

They started their business out of the desire to share their products with their community. Their commitment to using natural, 100% Organic ingredients stems from a desire to live in a healthy environment and promote a healthy lifestyle. Their goal is simple: “provide the best organic products to our customers at affordable prices. We take great pride in our customer service, our products, our company and our commitment to the earth.” Who wouldn’t want to partner with them?

I invited Wynne out to see the vineyard and discuss what could be done with our materials. I was just finishing a row of leaf canopy management in the Vidal Blanc when Wynne drove up. Wynne is a gracious, energetic woman truly interested in learning about the vine2wine lifecycle. We had a great time discussing how the vines grew, what types of materials may be suitable and when they would be ready. I invited Wynne out in August, after veraison, to see how the grapes ripen and then for harvest. I can’t wait to see what she and her sister develops out of our materials! I’m looking forward to a fruitful partnership.

Before she left, Wynne left me a bottle of her insect repellent. It is really lovely and has one of my favorite smell: lemongrass. I can tell you that it really works well in the vineyard and at the farmhaus. You can order your own Forever Eden products, here: http://forevereden.onlybusiness.com/OnlineCatalog/Default.aspx