fresh look

to all my readers. this blog will be getting a serious face lift over the next few weeks to give it a FRESH look. there will be more regular posts too. looking forward to share new insights and experiences with you.

my joyful noise

she
my wife
rock star
super model
joker
friend

she
my wife
sassy
funny
exciting
funky chick

she
my wife
inspires
encourages
challenges
brings out the best

she
my wife
blue eyes
killer smile
sensitive soul
warming spirit

she
my wife
oozing confidence
spirited enthusiasm
brutal honesty
my joyful noise

someone like you

challenges. we all know them. we all face them. we all live through them. the way you come out on the other side is determined by your attitude. you can either come out the other side stronger or weaker. we are faced with choices daily that determine the path and how our short life story will play out. the same when it comes to your past and your memories of it. we like to dwell in the past. we listen to songs of broken hearts and broken relationships. of things lived and lost. to stand still and re-live those moments. however - i recently decided to rather focus on my future and painting new memories of my future. the future that i will share with my beautiful wife. the partner i have chosen to share the rest of my life with. modern day life has set us up! i was one of its biggest victims. it wants us to stand still in the past. it tries to cripple us with memories of pain. memories of failure. memories of what could have been but never will be. it slowes us down to live life. it steals from the joys that awaits us around every corner. instead we live life looking over our shoulder. music. movies. all forms of entertainment these days speak to that dark side we carry around inside of us. it speaks and stirs our darkest emotions that wants to run back to that place of empty promises and lost opportunities. BUT NOT ME. i am looking forward. anticipating the fabulous future. spending every moment with the love of my life. sharing crazy situations. deepest secrets. creating memories that will stand for eternity. moments that will last for a lifetime. i am glad i found someone like you. the one next to whom i will wake up next to for as long as i live. the one with the big blues eyes and fair skin. the one that makes me laugh. the one that keeps me sane. the one that i can trust and confide in. i can tell you everything. i want to. i have to. cos we are one. and will always be.

emotional masochism

we have all been there. emotional masochism. once in your lifetime. it was the bread on your butter. the bitter with your sweet. the pity at your party. i just finished reading a book that made me realize how pathetic we can be. i listened to a sermon about the power of our thoughts and that the battle rages in our minds, thoughts and emotions. a mind siege. all of us have built relationships on memories. perceptions of feelings. we have put ourselves through endless weeks and months of misery. all based on a thought. an emotion. that connection you thought you had – all in the mind. imagination. trying to figure out what it was that you were feeling. trying to come to terms with your emotions. when it was all lies that your mind was selling you. and you fell for it. hook line. and sinker. so i was wondering why we do this. and emotional masochisms was the answer that i came up with. feeling sorry for yourself and dwelling on the pain. feeding off it. it comes from our introspective selfish nature as humans. its all about me. once you turn your focus outward - fears, feelings and emotions of this kind becomes a vapor in the wind. don’t underestimate the power of your mind. or the control of your emotions over your rational. people go crazy because they don’t understand this about themselves. they merely brush it aside and say: its only thoughts. but your thoughts become patterns in your life that in turn becomes actions and then habits. therefore program your mind not to dwell on these thoughts of self-inflicted pain. rather live a life of freedom. free from negative and painful thoughts. longing for a place of false safety that you have created in your mind. walk away. do it today. it is not worth turning back to. if you are honest with yourself right now – you don’t really want that which you crave in your mind. you would rather enjoy the freedom from it.

the true meaning of contentment

as we are getting closer to the end of another harvesting season the word that springs to mind after this crazy time is contentment. it is always a season where normal life seize to happen and you survive the days on adrenaline. days that never have enough time to complete your daily task and the hope that it will not be too late if it is left till tomorrow. yet in all this turmoil to find contentment is such a great sense of achievement...and also purpose. my conviction defines contentment as: desiring what you already have. thus not to strive towards things that are unattainable. things that fill your worries to the level of unrealistic. issues and ideas that distract you from that which is in front of you. how often do you find yourself in that place of wanting to be somewhere else. or doing something else. after every harvest season a time of reflection is needed. this usually takes some time and is an ongoing process. time to revise what has happened and the things that can be improved upon. but as most things in life work-related issues and life-related issues are intertwined and therefore inseparable. and that is how i came to this junction of answering my own question of whether or not i have reached that place of contentment. to be honest i dont think i have nailed it completely but definitely got very close. taking some time out this past weekend at the beach house did help to put some things into perspective. a clearing of the head was needed to re-focus on the task that awaits in the few months to come. allocation and blending is another challenge all together it being more creative and inventive. the truth remains....to be content with your day to day is a massive luxury in life that very few people have. i count my lucky starts and will continue with a thankful attitude.

mid-harvest euphoria

it’s that time of the season when everything is such a rush that you hope you get to do all the essentials. it’s a time of pressure. but it’s a time of character too. it’s the time when you see new wines born. old ideas dying. the young wines are bubbling and foaming cause of the fermentation. the old wines in the barrels sighing cause it is time for them to come out of their three years of hibernation. it’s their time to become blends and champions in their own right.
this season we have played our hand with some new faces on the cultivar shelf. varieties such as carmenere (from chile), graciona (hailing form spain), tempranillo (also from spain)….only to name a few. in total we have (thus far) harvested over twenty different cultivars. exciting stuff. and they are looking good already. i realize that it is a honor to be exposed to such a variety (excuse the pun) of varieties. hehehe.
the sense of satisfaction is rising as the harvest progresses. it has taken a lot of time and effort of all involved to make this season another memorable one. this mid-harvest euphoria reminds me why i have decided to do what i do….to make the best wine possible. and i am still loving it. as a matter of fact – i am loving it more than ever.

the heat of the harvest

every year for a few months my job requires of me to turn into this working machine. where days are endless and weeks never seem to begin or end. i wake up in the morning asking my wife what day it is. it is a turmoil of thoughts and ideas. it is a mixure of tribulations and victories. we call it the harvest… and that is what we winemakers do. it is what we live for. it is the eager anticipation that last for months. and now finally it is here.
the harvest requires a serious level of multi tasking, the processing of information and the eclipse of the performance is off course the day ritual of tasting. decisions are made every split second and some plans and dreams of blends, aromas and flavors take center stage. the harvest is the culmination of a growing season that ebb and flows according to the weather. these patterns are the blue print of what underwrites the potential of the vintage or that particular year.
emotions run high. a lot of shouting takes place. instructions are passed on. analyses are captured and deciphered. more decisions are made, more instructions churned out of the brain of the winemaker. eager anticipation. each tank. each barrel…a potential masterpiece. but only time will tell. patience and persistence is the name of the game. we can only wait and see what the outcome will be.
raise a glass to another good year.