Any fluffy ideas about wine making I've had in the past quickly vanished after a brief introduction to the production process. Don't get me wrong, the bubble may have burst, but I do not regret moving cross-country in the interest of learning how to make wine. I'm still as intrigued and interested in studying everything from tank punch-downs to the challenges of vine diseases, dry as it may seem. However, a wine cellar (not the part visible to tourists) is generally a concrete structure of little architectural interest and the wine is made by people who, in many cases, don't even care for the taste of it. A very different picture than I had imagined even three weeks ago. Prior to starting a job in production, I spent a few years buying and selling wine. Much of that time I spent with my nose in either a wine reference book or a glass. Somehow I thought that making wine would attract people with a passion for the product, but in this way it's no different than any other industry. Perhaps a naive idea, as though postal workers are passionate about mail. Still, a little shocked from this realization, I passed this port-a-john on the way to the winery this morning and it all became a little clearer. The romance of humans.
