Do you remember the old cartoons where a sheep dog and coyote are battling all day until it is time to punch the time clock and go home? As they leave, another sheep dog and coyote are punching in. “Good night Fred.” “Good night Ralph.” Then the whole chase begins again with two entirely different, but entirely similar characters? That is the wine business right now. One winemaker leaves a market and another one comes in. Winemakers are constantly on the road. They are now sales agents. No more hanging out at the winery tasting blends. Winemakers are on the road.

When I started the company my winemaker friend Phil Baxter asked me if I knew the song Cecilia by Paul Simon. “The wine business is just like that song,“ he said. “Do you remember the lines, ‘I get up to wash my face, when I get back someone else has taken my place. Oh, Cecilia you are breaking my heart…..’ I get it now. I am excited to have a certain restaurant serve my wine, only to come back later to find someone has taken my place. I have been lucky with this. I don’t get replaced all that often. Most of that is because of the wine. Some is because winemakers are on the road constantly.

The only people who hate winemakers being on the road more than winemakers are distributor sales reps who can’t get their work done because they are always schlepping a winemaker around. “I can’t talk now,” they say when their phone rings. “I am with another supplier,” they growl. The rep looks at me refusing to hide his/her hostility. If the distributor rep is really ticked because you’re their fifth winemaker this week, they take you on what the old timer winemakers call the Ho Chi Min trail. This trail is hostile territory. None of the places you visit like fine wine and you are going to get ambushed. But, often, you meet a distributor rep who loves wine, loves your wine, and is excited to work with you. They are worth their weight in gold.

I am one of the few winemakers who love the road. I love people. I enjoy learning from good sales people. I am interested in what wine buyers and their customers have to say. I like seeing how my wines taste with different foods. I see lots of other winemakers when I am out. I haven’t run into my friend Phil, yet. Nor, have I replaced any of his wines with mine.