Tomorrow, the journey begins

There are very definite stages in life, but for some reason you usually can't see them clearly until one chapter has closed and another has opened.

I have just been hired to work at a vineyard on the North Fork of Long Island. When I went for my first interview, I had no idea whether it was going to be an hourly job of standing around dressed like a penguin, serving wine and then going home again, or whether it might be a chance to become an integral part of the living, working, breathing thing that is a vineyard. I feared the former, and longed for the latter.



It was, happily, the latter. The vineyard owners are a wife and husband team. I'll call them Brenda and Daniel. They are into wine making- heart, body, and soul. After owning two successful restaurants in New York City for more than ten years, they decided to sell everything in order to put their life into the vineyard, and now they are living their dream. This dream of theirs includes a lovely Bed & Breakfast as well as the vineyard and wine-making facilities. (Can you say original wood floors from the 1800's? I thought you could!)

Daniel is a chef, and he prepares the scrumptious B&B breakfasts. He also prepares dinners for the special events they host throughout the year, and from what I gather he focuses on the "business end" of business. Brenda focuses on the vineyard itself, working her organic magic on the vines, prepping the compost, managing the field workers, making sure that everything is moving in harmony towards the goal of the all-natural production of fantastic wines.

When I sat down with them yesterday to finalize the hiring process and learn about their plans for me, I found that I will indeed have an integral role at the vineyard, no penguin suit required. Basically, they've both been working seven days a week from the very beginning, and have not really been able to leave for vacation or extended business travel because there is no one else on the premises that can run things while they are away. That is going to be my job.

I'm going to be hosting wine tastings in the tasting room, checking guests in and out of the B&B, doing bookkeeping, keeping the mailing lists up to date, keeping everything clean and stocked, helping as needed with the harvesting process, working at special events, running errands, delivering wine to stores and restaurants, and whatever else they need at the moment. One of the best things about a small family business is the variety - never a dull moment, never stuck doing the same thing day in and day out. I'm also excited to report that Daniel offered to teach me to cook the B&B breakfasts - BONUS!!!

Most of the responsibilities they mentioned are already in my skill set - all except a knowledge of the wines themselves and how they are made. This is going to be my biggest and most important challenge, so that I can discuss our wines intelligently with customers, whether they are first-time wine tasters or experienced connoisseurs. There are two goals at the forefront here. One: For the guests to enjoy themselves. Two: For them to buy lots and lots of our wine!

I feel pretty confident about my selling skills. Waiting tables for all those years taught me a lot about talking to people, making them feel comfortable, encouraging them to try and buy. However, I have a lot of studying ahead of me where the wine is concerned. I need to know what bouquet each wine has, what grapes were used in the making, the prices per bottle and case, and a myriad of other facts and fancies about wine making in general, and our wines in specific.



All this doesn't scare me, though. It whets my appetite! I am anxious to get started learning, and to get my hands dirty. These folks don't know it, but they've just hired the hardest working person they've ever met. The passion I feel for this new journey, this new stage in my life (for I see now that's what it is) lets me know that I am on the right path.

After being in the corporate world for so long, with all its paper-pushing, meaningless, soul-killing bureaucracy, I have been starving for the breath of fresh air that this new opportunity represents both literally and figuratively. I have done with working for the machine. I need to work in order to live, yes. But I no longer need to give up my soul, my creativity, or my self respect to do so. This vineyard is going to give me back every bit of spiritual nutrition that I pour into it and more, and I plan to give it all I've got.

Grass and manure and grapes and dirt and hard work sound like heaven to me. So do bottles and wooden barrels, sunshine and clean linens, dogs and cats and smiling people. Growing things and harvesting them, crafting a living product which brings good cheer to people all over the world... what could be better?

I think I have found the place I was meant to be. Tomorrow is my first day at the vineyard - I'm diving in!