This blog will follow my efforts to start a winery in our home in New York. My [now ex-wife] Alicia named the house "the Shier", as it reminded her of the little town that the Hobbits carved out of the countryside in Middle-earth. (The spelling of Shier is changed to prevent actual Hobbits from confusing the Shier for their hometown.) Here is the Shier in March 2007.