From One Crush to Another: Former ABC-TV 'Bachelor' Living Winemaker's Dream

Ben Flajnik, the heartthrob of ABC-TV's "Bachelor" wasn't crying in his beer Wednesday over the end of his romance with Los Angeles model Courtney Robertson. Instead, he was "out among the grapes," according to his staff.

"When Scotch is here, it means Ben's around somewhere," one of Flajnik's Envolve Winery employees in Sonoma told Patch on Wednesday.

Scotch, Flajnik's Jack Russell Terrier, was waiting patiently and soaking up the love at the Envolve Winery office. Flajnik was up in Sebastapol checking out grapes and preparing to show off his 2011 Pinot Noir, which is due to be released next month. Staff said he was meeting Don Kosta, of Sebastapol's Kosta Browne Winery, for lunch.

Flajnik told Patch by phone, "Don's the premier Pinor Noir maker in Sonoma County. I just want to get a friend's opinion, you know?"

Staff confirmed Flajnik's breakup with Robertson, but Flajnik declined comment by phone.

According to media reports, the couple went their separate ways due to the pressures of a long-distance relationship, the lack of time together and growing apart.

In July, Flajnik told Patch that he and Robertson saw each other about once a week. He said their professional lives took up a lot of time in between.

On Wednesday he had this to say on sulia.com: "Another day out in the vineyards. Nothing like the wine country to put all your worries at ease. It's therapeutic to be outside with your thoughts and grapes. :)"

While the romantic harvest may not have gone to plan, Flajnik sounded upbeat about his grape yield on Wednesday.

"It's a winemaker's dream," he told Patch. "But it's an administrator's nightmare. There's no tank space anywhere in Sonoma County."

The county has had excellent yields this year, according to Nick Frey, president of the county's wine grape commission.

Flajnik said he has nearly finished "crush"—the season when wine grape growers rush to pick the fruit at its peak and get it into tanks or barrels for fermenting.

"There's just the Cabernet to go, and then we're finished," he said.

Flajnik and his partners are planning a fundraising party for Breast Cancer Awareness on Oct. 20. For details, click here.