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Know Thyself

As we lumber along in life, sometimes we encounter opportunities to reflect upon what motivates us. There can be many types/layers of motivation and taking inventory of them can be useful in becoming more focused upon what comes naturally to us: Because, it is easier to do what comes naturally. Right?

Myself, I like puzzles. Spatial puzzles are the easiest. Rubik’s cube, I didn’t dig so much after staying up most of a night thinking I was so close to solving it (I wasn’t). Some puzzles are easily solved and others are long-term projects that require years to see the consequences of choices made. This is why winemaking suits my personality: I like some things to move slowly so I can ponder them. By contrast, I do some other things to satisfy needs for the immediate and on-the-fly creative moment. Live music and jamming is a perfect example of that. An inappropriate note once in a while is a fleeting thing that has little consequence in either the larger scheme or the momentum of being in that moment. However, winemaking has lasting, long-term consequences to inappropriate notes – you just can’t have them. They stay with the wine for its duration like typographical errors in a musical score that would eternally mar every symphony performance. Winemaking is a puzzle to solve over a long period of time.

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