Lessons from Gustavo

A few weeks ago we were in Napa with some Texas friends celebrating a birthday.  (I say Texas, but really we all traveled from Austin, San Francisco, Chicago and Sacramento…but the friendships started in Texas).  I had a fabulous time, and my lessons learned from the weekend I will credit to our new friend, Gustavo.

Lesson 1: Your first career choice may not be your true calling. 

This Napa visit focused on wineries featured in the movie Bottleshock and our first stop was at GustavoThrace.  We were lucky enough to meet Gustavo and enjoyed many of his stories while we tasted his delicious wine.  When asked if he knew all his life that he would be a winemaker, he shared with us that he thought he would be a professional baseball player, then maybe a history teacher, and what ultimately brought him to school at UC Davis was to figure out why people were so obsessed with “stinky cheese”!  That goodness for his curiosity, which led him to his true calling of wine-making.  May we all keep listening for what we are truly called to do.

Lesson 2: Enjoy the journey

I really felt like Gustavo loves what he does.  Sure, I have no doubt there are aspects of his work that aren’t thrilling, but it was clear he had a passion for wine-making, and enjoyed sharing it with us.  I am starting to appreciate and embrace more the adventure that comes with the journey of life, I hope to find ways to share my little excitements with others along the way as well.

Lesson 3: This one is a Napa wine-tasting logistical lesson…start early!

This is not a “come early, stay late” piece of advice, but rather start early and end mid-afternoon in the natural hot spring-fed hot-tub at the hotel in Calistoga.  The benefit of starting early is you beat the crowds and get a personal experience.  My most enjoyable stops this trip were at GustavoThrace and Chateau Montelana (they had the winning wine in 1976 which put Napa on the map…see the movie Bottleshock).  At both of these wineries we were the only party tasting and had the opportunity to ask many questions and learn much more about their wine and the region than when we are just another pour for the day. 

The gang with Gustavo!

 

The winning wine from 1976.