Richard Elia and wife Harley MacKenzie

I found this article in yesterday’s edition of the BostonHerald.com, about the closing of the Quarterly Review of Wines (QRW) after 35 years of circulation.  When I first read the headline I expected to see some tie in to how the world of news and information has gone more digital and QRW was to be just another casualty of how the landscape is changing.  But no, that is not what I found.  What I found were owners and writers of a wine publication actually losing their passion for wine and simply getting tired.

[Wine is] an industry that’s not much fun to cover any more.  Wine has become such a commodity now that the romance is over,” [the owner] said. “We’re losing the civilizing nature of wine drinking. It’s supposed to be a social event.”

Publisher/Owner, Richard Elia continues on in the article to blame the demise of his magazine on an aging staff, declining ads, and corporate takeover of many small growers and producers.  He goes on to say that they can no longer get connected with the real talent in wineries and subsequently the real stories about them, instead talking only to marketing directors who simply care about how many cases are rolling out the door.

I know wine bloggers who have relationships with and can get quality stories from winery insiders and I don’t understand his assertion that we’ve lost the nature of wine drinking as a social event nor how that correlates to his statement about wine becoming a commodity, do you?

The social aspect of wine has to do with people, not objects such as wine.  Wine is a great social “lubricant” that provides a subject, an experience, a talking point, an additional guest to the party that, when it all comes together provides something to remember between those people at that time and place.

Has wine become a commodity and are all the wineries being gobbled up by the corporate behemoths?  In certain aspects, I would say yes.  But, just as there are wineries being sucked up and the subsequent wines become blended with bulk juice and “standardized” vintage by vintage to appease the mainstream market, there is another round of new blood and breed of winemakers and wineries entering the system who are doing things far from being labeled as a commodity.  Just look at Two Shepherds, Cartograph, Stark, Premonition Cellars and a soon-to-be-announced label by yours truly.  You can check out two of these micro-wineries this Saturday at an open house and see for yourself.  This is where the romance continues to blossom.  There IS still joy in wine.

However, I can completely understand the challenge of an aging staff and just simply becoming tired of something after 35 years.  I was burned out on the Finance/Banking Technology industry in just 17 years.  This seems to be the true reason for the shut down, with a little bit of frustration about a changing world coming through in Richard’s answers.  As with anything we do in this life, we must be constantly changing and adapting to our environment, which continues to morph at an accelerated rate lest we become lost in the haze of growth and development.  We are, and must be, in control of our own destiny and remain open to change and new ideas, follow your passion and adjust when necessary along this path of life and work… else we will simply become tired and old.

As you get older you may begin to think differently than you once did.  I know I have.  Many things I once believed in and life decisions I have made over the years are now shifting much like how my tastes in food and drink have changed since I was a kid.  I once abhored beer, coffee and certain vegetables, but eventually they became favorites.  Few are so lucky as to find their life-long passions the first time around.  The rest of us move along a path developed based on early career aspirations and veer only slightly, if at all, as life happens and security, family needs and material desires claim importance.  Over time we become further molded and formed by our experiences, travels, people and organizations as we strive for promotions, recognition, and more rungs up that ladder.  Then, at some point, we realize we are no longer as interested in many of those things and the drive and motivation begin to wane.  Then, hopefully, we are lucky enough to find something we are truly passionate about to rekindle that fire in our bellies and improve our chances at reaching fulfillment in our lives once again.

So, at this point of realization the process begins of chiseling away the corrosion, spackle and crust that has built up over the years so that you can get to the center of your true self, what many might call the soul.  I don’t know if the soul really exists.  But, one thing I’ve learned in my broad experience is that it is necessary to be true to yourself in order to be happy and live a fulfilled life.  Afterall, you only live once.

Similarly, it is often pontificated amongst us wine geeks that the grape also possesses a soul, which is only truly revealed in the best wines.  Never should it be coaxed or altered to become what it is not nor what it was never meant to be.  And so it should be with us.  This is where my story starts its next chapter, though the planning process has been well underway for years.  At this stage, I am simply one man going to Sonoma.

There are a lot of plates in the air, so in my case soul-searching does not mean taking a step back and basically de-toxing.  It’s a change in focus and energy, both increasing in intensity for the better.  I am taking my search to wine country this Fall to focus on how I can translate my experience, skills and passion into a future in a wine business and to reside once again on the west coast.  During harvest I will be performing as a cellar rat for Holdredge Wines in Healdsburg who make tremendously delicious Pinot Noir, perhaps my favorite varietal.  All the while, I continue developing and implementing my social media strategic framework from which wineries can be successful in using social media to complement their current marketing plans.  I am in talks with both a large winery as well as a privately held sales and marketing company of fine wine and spirits in this regard.

In one week, I will start my trip to wine country and drive across the country a total of 2500 miles over about 5 days.  I’ve always enjoyed driving, but this will certainly stretch my highway endurance.  However, I look at this drive as another opportunity for soul-searching, enjoying what the American country-side (at least along I-40) has to offer and enjoying the time alone with my own thoughts.  Though, I want to share this trip with you as well.  I plan to journal my trip via social media including photos, blog posts, tweets and status updates… of course, not while driving  Won’t you follow along?  I could use some company on the drive.

Current Plan

As we waited in the middle of a 100-person line in order to get our Crush It! books signed by author, wine and social media guru, Gary Vaynerchuk, Joe (@suburbanwino) and I shared with each other how we’re both not normally people who are “star struck.”  We don’t collect autographs, we don’t go running up to celebrities screaming and crying.  Though I did once stare quite a bit at a slightly inebriated Tara Reid sitting next to me in a bar in the Atlanta airport once, but that’s another story.  Yet here we were standing in line to get a book signed and catch a glimpse of a true American success story.  Yeah, it was cool.

So, it is at this time of inner reflection that I am now drawn to much of what Gary says, though, I could’ve probably gotten the same message from several other “gurus” out there on the market.  But, I think the wine and social media angles connected us and both topics have rekindled my creativity and business-minded energies I once flaunted.  Here are a few other things we learned from Gary last night:

1. Have a Goal/Objective - A twist on the “if you don’t know where your going, how will you get there?” concept – Gary wants to buy the Jets

2. Take a look inside – Don’t try to be what you are not.  Pick what you are good at and if you need something for your business that you are not good at, team up with someone else who is

3. Be Practical – Unless you are that daring entrepreneurial true spirit, don’t just drop what you’re doing cold turkey to start your new venture.  Make it work within practical means.  Instead of resigning, maybe you downgrade to a lower-paying salary and/or move in with your parents that affords you the time to focus on your business.

A few tweets during the event:

Gary’s full of advice and opinions and it was enjoyable to hear him speak and respond to the crowd.  Feel free to reach out to him and hope you get a response as it may be the last time he may actually be able to reply… he is just getting too big to keep up the amount of emails he receives, so I think he’ll be dropping it soon or handing it off to his staff.

Go big or go home.  Cheers!  More video to come, but here’s a snippet…

It has been a long and arduous journey, but chasing your passion is never easy.  With 16 days still left in the application period as of this writing, I have learned quite a lot, “met” a lot of great and interesting people and have never felt more driven to do something I really love: Work at a winery in the wine country.

For those of you who don’t know about the Murphy Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent competition, go here to learn about it:  http://www.areallygoodejob.com/.  If you’d like to view my video application, click on the video graphic in the right sidebar and vote if you think I deserve it.

As with everything in a social networking community, I have had help along the way and I’d like to acknowledge some institutions that have given me their support in this endeavor:

VinTank is an industry leader in wine, technology and Web 2.0 strategies and have put their full support and endorsement behind the Murphy Goode – A Really Goode Job campaign as well as the VinTank 4+, who are specific individuals who have demonstrated exceptional Social Networking skills.  Fortunately, I was selected as one of those candidates, so I am grateful and pleased to have VinTank support my work and look forward to working with them in the future.  Please visit the sites of the VinTank 4+ in the right sidebar under the HOTLIST.

Michael Bryan, Executive Director of the Atlanta Wine School was my instructor for the Certified Specialist of Wine (CWS) program I completed.  He was the first to see the value I could bring to the Murphy Goode position and quickly offered his support, which includes a feature story in the June newsletter due out this week.  AWS host tastings, wine courses and are part of the Society of Wine Educators.  Thanks, Michael for your support and I hope to continue growing in the ways of wine following your lead in the community.

Me and my wife met Bob, the owner of d’Vine Wine Bar & Shop, a few years back and really loved his quaint wine bar with a great selection, menu, music and overall ambiance.  He is an avid wine collector who opened his wine bar after a successful career with IBM/Peoplesoft.  With backgrounds in technology and a passion for wine, it was easy for all of us to get along and strike up a conversation over a glass.  By the way, d’Vine has been voted the #1 Wine Bar in Atlanta 5 years straight by CitySearch and was the 2008 Best Neighborhood Bar in Dunwoody by Atlanta Magazine.  Thanks, Bob!

Being a Phi Kappa Tau fraternity man is a mark of distinction in which I take just pride.  The organization helped chisel me into the person I am today during those developing college years, building character, a sense of self, a focus on community and service, as well as humility.  They have supported me in many ways and here is a feature article on my quest in The Link.

 Montaluce Winery & Estates is a Tuscany dream-come-true right in the foothills of North Georgia, just 60 miles north of Atlanta.  Many thanks to Rob Beecham and the entire Montaluce family for providing many picturesque weekends at the blossoming community and now many more with wine produced from their very own state-of-the-art winery, which just produced their 1st release.  They support my cause in the world of wine.  Please visit them here.

And, of course, I thank all my family, friends, colleagues and connections on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. who have supported me throughout this effort.  I owe a lot to everyone.  I will be updating this page as more endorsements are forthcoming, so until then.  Cheers!