My second wine job

This weekend I reflected a little on Labor Day, specifically the labor in my own work history.

These days I often come back to what shaped my perspective on wine and wineries, and most of this stems from my second wine job.

My first wine job was fixing equipment and doing last minute deliveries of wine capsules for my cousin who, to steal a gold rush metaphor, 'sold picks and shovels' to the fast growing wine region in the Central Coast. I helped him with all sorts of odd jobs, which introduced me to local winemakers, and led to my second job at a small family winery just before harvest 2005.

This was Paso Robles and it felt, like it had for 150 years, like the Wild West. Small community, few rules, a great deal of pride in being early to the trend. "NAPA is for auto parts we used it say."

The team does a bit of everything at a small family winery. Especially during harvest. Before sunrise you are in the vineyard for the pick, then hauling grapes back the winery, then crushing and cleaning equipment, and moving bins and wine juice all day. Then you drink a beer and do punchdowns for a few more hours.

During the other 9 to 10 months of the year you are busy with tasting room sales, hosting large events, making local deliveries, boxing up the wine club, and selling with distributors on the road.

Time with my boss, Joe Barton, was time well spent. He had an incredible memory for the vintages of his families wines and was a great story teller.

I also managed the cellar and organized the wine library. It was great to open wines with age on them, and then tell guests in the tasting room "we just opened a 1998, it was beautiful." That always led to a few more bottle sales.

Working nearly full time while also a full time college student was a lot of fun, because I had money in my pocket and lots of free wine. But it was also hard work. My Ag peers understood my dusty clothes and purple hands; my Marketing and Econ peers did not.

20 years later, in my reflection mode, I clearly understand my preference for wines made by small family wineries. Bonus points for single vineyard estate wines, and even more if they have decent scores from the critics, extra time aging in bottle, and a unique history that can't be told by another winery.

That's my story.

Who or what shaped your wine perspective? Did that inform you cellar filling years? Does it align with your current cellar and what you are drinking today?

Either way, do tell.

Cheers!

Ryan

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Learn more. My second wine job was at https://www.bartonfamilywines.com/