A Question on Passion
This past week I had a conversation about how owning a small batch winery would be an albatross around your neck if there was no passion for winemaking. The natural comeback to this was “where did you get your passion for wine.” This is not the first time I have been asked this question.
Passion ˈpaSH(ə)n/ noun - strong and barely controllable emotion.
I didn’t grow up with a grandfather who used to make wine in his basement. We didn’t have a vineyard in the family. He did; however, have an orchard.
Being the third grandchild in my family, I was the first girl. The two older boys just happened to be my brothers. When it came time for picking apples, my brothers got the ladder or the apple picker, and I always got stuck picking up the apples which had fallen off the trees. These apples were usually covered with bees, or so my memory tells me. This is not where my passion for winemaking began.
Even as a young child, I had an entrepreneurial spirit. I grew up in a ranch house next door to my grandparents. For a teen aged child, a ranch house presents a lot of possibilities. Climbing out of my bedroom window was the one opportunity that got my bedroom moved to the back of the house where the drop to the ground was a little further from the window.
While I still inhabited the front room, I was able to run a small business. On Friday evenings, for a very short period, I would sell my father’s liquor through my bedroom window in my mom’s Tupperware. I must have been about 13 or 14 at the time, maybe younger. While it was a lucrative endeavor, the move to the back bedroom put me out of business. No winemaking skills or passion was developed during these activities.
Creative projects have always been a passion of mine. I love to make things and have tried many different mediums. I’ve sewn most of my children’s clothing when they were young, made stuffed animals, made costumes, brewed beer, competed in a Gingerbread-house contest, and then was introduced to winemaking in my 50’s. Each barrel of wine I make is a new project and brings with it a renewed sense of passion.
In the end, I don’t believe that passion for an activity grows out of years of experience, rather I believe having passion will sustain that activity and allow it to grow for years to come.
Sláinte!
Sharon
