In the Wine Biz, We All Have the Same Job

We are among the lucky few and we ought to understand that and act accordingly

They tell you to do what you love and it won’t seem like work. Tell that to a recent U.C. Davis graduate working outside the winery on a 100-degree day in Sonoma or Paso Robles. The love of wine and winemaking is surely a compulsion for them. But it’s still work, alright.

Nonetheless, my guess is that 90% of us do a job in an industry that is neither something we “love” nor an industry we are taken with in any way. By my estimate, this leaves 10% of folks doing something they love to do or doing something in an industry they are passionate about. It’s a tiny percentage.

In my experience, the people working in the wine industry are over-represented in that 10%. And it hardly matters what work they do. Winemaker, vineyard manager, winery GM, retailing, wholesaling, sales, public relations, journalism, marketing manager. A large proportion of those working in roles across the wine industry have a genuine love or passion for the end product and many for the process that goes into producing wine.

Other industries or businesses surely are overrepresented by people who love what they do, as with wine. Journalism, publishing, sports, and performance art seem to be examples. But the number of folks working in these industries is few. Most of us toil in manufacturing, tech sales and services, construction, fast food, or some other industry or job they would call “mundane”.