The owner of Apple Creek Vineyard Farm was born in Shubuta, Mississippi and his family moved out west to Sacramento, California early in his childhood.

Growing up he wanted to be an architect. Robert Hoze loved building things and growing his faith in God. He was influenced by the Word and believed in treating people like he wanted to be treated. As a child he enjoyed playing with LegoⓇ pieces and sets, “it brought a lot of creativity,” Robert said. In high school he played sports, specifically football and basketball, and was pretty good at them as he almost became a collegiate athlete. Instead he obtained an associate’s degree at Sac City and took on a job for a well-known gas equipment supplier.

However his life came to an abrupt halt in 2008.

Robert was out doing a service call for work. One of the gas cylinders was falling back and he attempted to keep it from crushing his legs by balancing it. When he tried carrying it, he heard a sudden crack in his back. Later that evening he found himself stiff and in pain. The next morning his doctors revealed that his L-3, L-4 and L-5 vertebrae were damaged. Its function serves as providing a wide range of flexibility, support for the upper body and weight of the torso, and protects the nerves that run from the spinal cord. Within 24 hours he went from completely physically able to permanently disabled at the age of 53. Doctors said that surgery would be too dangerous due to risks of further spinal and nerve damage. They told him to stay busy so he looked back on his childhood and remembered he had always enjoyed the country life.

In 2012 Robert and his family moved onto an eight acre piece of land with a house built from its original 1918 state. Since then he’s worked hard on numerous projects such as - an entire house remodel, filtering out trash from dirt by hand, maintaining the natural creek, etc. That’s a typical day on the small family farm, working on multiple projects and hoping to get something done. He’s currently working on completing his hydroponic system.

Robert hopes to be successful with his small farm. He relies on the sales of fruits, organic vegetables and produce organized by his wife and partner-in-crime, Alla Hoze. She’s the face of the farm at public farmers’ markets and arranges shelf inventory of their products at a few European stores. Robert envisions future educational programs, cook-offs, weddings and special dinner events for nonprofit organizations working with autism awareness. He would love to reach out to college students, professionals, small businesses and restaurants, and enthusiastic foodies to educate them about agriculture and good food.

Robert’s hardships haven't given him lost hope. He takes life day-by-day and cherishes the love and support from his family. When asked what else we should know about him and his family, he said, “We’re friendly. Down to earth. We’re willing to help when we can.”

Blessings from,

Apple Creek Vineyard Farm