Each of our lives is like a good wine; there is an amazing story in every bottle.
With every sip, the tale of that year’s vintage unfolds. So many variables influence the color, structure, and flavors of a wine. The soil, the weather, the temperature, the kinds of wood used in the wine barrels, to the cultures of yeast used to ferment it, to the blending, to time it ages, and the list goes on. They all combine to inform the taster of the story of each grape’s journey from the vine to your glass.
While what happens in and around the vineyard certainly affects the dynamic of the wine, the impact on any given bottle of wine is deeper than that. The influences stretch beyond just the extrinsic and also include the intrinsic knowledge of a craft honed over time and passed down through generations of vintners. The type of soil, how it was enriched, the selection and placement of vines within a vineyard, when the grapes are harvested and how, the techniques in fermenting, blending, and storage all contain methods that have evolved through experiences, trial and error, and application of science and technology. Each generation adds something new to the craft, science (and sometimes marketing) to make the wine unique and distinctive. Each bottle contains the collective nutrients, knowledge, and experience of years, decades, and in some cases centuries.
Our lives are the same.
We are the product of our experiences throughout life as much as we are a compilation of centuries of our ancestors’ DNA. The things that shape us include our relationships, events, where we came from, how we were raised, to our cultures and customs, to our biological make. So many variables contribute to make us each so unique. Each of our lives tells an amazing story of not only our own journeys but also the journeys of those that came before us.
If we considered each year of our lives like a vintage, it would tell the story of that year and the road you traveled to get there. Think back on just this past year and all the experiences you’ve had, from major to minor events. Even little conversations and encounters and decisions. A choice here, a choice there, impacts our trajectory. All those little things add up and have moved you throughout the year from one point to the next and landed you where you are now.
Like the vintner does when sampling the wine, take a sample of the past year or years. Would you say it’s a good vintage? What influenced it positively and negatively? Considering yourself the vintner, what little techniques might you change to improve it?
And then there are the big things that have influenced your trajectory – your childhood, your parents, your ancestors. Where you came from is a big ingredient in this wine of your life. Just like a wine, you have a story to tell of where you came from. How are you telling it to others? Is it the way you want or is there a chance to change the narrative?
That’s why we love drinking wine and meeting people. Learning more about them through the stories they tell enriches us and deepens our relationships.
Spring is around the corner, and with it a popular time for vintners to release their newest wines for all of us to enjoy. It can be the same for people. With or without wine, It’s an opportunity to make a new connection and share the unique vintage of you.
Cheers!
