02/05/2026
It is with sadness in our hearts that we announce the passing of Matriarch, Mother, Sister, Cousin, Sailor, Tour Guide, Mother Hen, Chef, Lover Of Life and so much more..... Alison "Ome" Stark.
On January 30th, 2026 she took her last breath with her four children present, in her home of 30 years, Twain Harte. She was 91 years young.
2026 will be the year that Page Mill Winery celebrates 50 years, but it will also be the year that we witness the final transition from one generation to the next as now both founders, Ome and Dick Stark, have gone back to the stars.
Ome was a grade school teacher, an office assistant, a tour guide (around the world) and, her most cherished role, she was a mother.... not just to Eric, Inger, Tor and Dane... but to countless others. A decade ago the Stark family threw a party for Ome and Dick and invited everyone who had ever lived at "Stark Park"..... more than 20 people showed up..... she gathered people in.
She spread joy like it was a salve that the world needed, would heal almost anything and it was free. This was matched only by her effort to bring laughter to most every situation. If you were the brunt of her joke, you typically felt fondness for being so, because you knew that she was about to make more fun of herself!
Ome broke the only strike to ever be organized at Page Mill Winery - led by my brother Eric and half brother Evan during harvest - by baking an apple pie and setting it in the kitchen window. Evan abandoned the picket line (which was around the press) and came in for apple pie, because Ome never used a recipe, but if she made it in the kitchen, it was sure to be delicious.
We, at Page Mill Winery, are so sad to be without her humor, joy, kindness, pragmatism and lust for adventure.
With a profound sense of loss, the joy found in having known her and the gratitude for having had her as a mother,
Sincerely,
Dane
