Todd "Dr. Toad" Williams1938-2007
Today I stopped by the local store and found a very special bottle of wine on the shelf, a 2006 Chardonnay from Toad Hollow Vineyards. A bottle of Eye of the Toad or a Cacophony would have worked just as well. I wanted the bottle to say goodbye to a friend.
Todd Williams, sometimes called Toad, or Dr. Toad by his friends, founded the little Healdsburg Winery with his friend Rodney Strong. Rod passed away in early 2006. Because of Rod I got to know Todd and his wife Frankie.
The obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle says Toad Hollow is “famous for its oddball toad-themed labels – and award-winning taste.” To me it is famous for the two great men who decided to make wine togther.
It was the people that made the winery special for me. I got to spend time with Todd and Frankie, Rod and his wife Charlotte before she passed away in 2005. Twice I was able to drive Rod and his caregiver Nancy, a very special lady, to Oregon and Washington.
Never heard of Todd. Maybe you have heard of his brother, actor/comedian Robin Williams. All of the obituaries carried a quote from Robin: “Toad left a big footprint with a cork, or as a friend said, he left a great trail.”
The picture above is from the Toad Hollow website http://www.toadhollow.com/.
Thank you Todd, for being a friend and for making some great wine.
No comments:
Post a Comment