Patty Bogle, doyenne of the Delta wine trade, has been hospitalized in Houston since November to fight acute myeloid leukemia, but her family, friends and neighbors in and about Clarksburg are arranging an unusual Valentine's Day tribute for her.
They are teaming up with BloodSource for a blood drive from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. next Thursday - Valentine's Day - in the gym at Delta High School in Clarksburg. Sign-ups also will be taken for the national bone-marrow registry. Those unable to get to the gym at that time can schedule a donation elsewhere through the organization's Web site. Her donor-club number is P572.
Since being hospitalized at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Patty Bogle has been receiving blood transfusions and platelets about four times a week. She's gone through two rounds of chemotherapy and is expected to be hospitalized another four months, said her daughter, Jody Bogle VanDePol. "We’re very hopeful her body will respond to these drugs and we’ll have her home," said VanDePol. Once the cancer is in remission, she will be up for a stem-cell transplant, she added.
Her mother's most difficult adjustment has been not being able to be around her three grandchildren, who must stay away because of her suppressed immune system. Other family members and friends, however, have been making frequent trips to Houston.
Bogles have been farming the Delta for more than a century, but only in 1968 did they start to cultivate wine grapes. Today, the family tends 1,200 acres of wine grapes about Clarksburg. In 1978, they established Bogle Vineyards, which with annual production at nearly a million cases is ranked the nation's 18th largest winery by Wine Business Monthly. Patty Bogle has overseen the winery since 1989, assuming even more responsibility for the family's farming operations since the death of her husband Chris Bogle in 1997.
She's also a prominent player in the state's wine community, particularly with respect to the understanding and appreciation of petite sirah, the winery's flagship varietal and one of the more historical varieties to be grown in California.
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