About 6 months ago, I really began to feel that there was a need in the wine industry for advocates. I don't just mean people that got behind and supported something. I mean people that really got their hands dirty. People that felt that there was good work to be done, and that great wine (and great food) was worth championing. To me this is the difference between active and passive (thanks to a friend of mine that remembers high school English better than I do, now I have this stuck in my head). This is totally selfish, and self important, but the need exists. The need also existed for myself, and a few other like minded people, to control our own careers. You are only as good as the producers you sell, absent of any creative output, that defines you. I've been working the distributor side for a while now, and it suites me pretty well.However, I felt like I was obliged to do a lot of stuff I didn't really like, to do, and the stuff I really liked to do was happening less and less. This is no different than any other job, but the bigger you get, the less sense it makes to have a wine geek like myself pitching chains.
So change is all around! Cliched but true. You make your own luck. whatever. I took stock of what I'm good at, what I like, what I'm not good at, and what I don't like to do. I also discovered that there are great producers that make great wines, but they're not selling the right amounts in my geographical region. Could this be a business idea? There are a lot of wineries whose products I really love. Is there a way to align myself with them? What am I good at? Enthusiasm of a little school girl, a pretty good palate, creative problem solving,biting sarcasm (this doesn't really help anyone), and a utopian wine idealism. OK, pieces are in place, what comes next?
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