22 Months in the Making

I’m sitting on the plane as it gets closer to San Jose. Mike was a doll and gave up his first class seat to me. I swear it is the little things that prove you are loved. Today has been a very long day. We woke up at 3am EST to catch our flight. After showering [waking up] and going downstairs to walk Vegas we noticed a text message that our flight was delayed. I love Mike with all my heart, but I swear he is the worst person to fly with. There is just a black cloud that lingers over him when he travels. When I fly alone, my flight takes off on time and arrives early. The car rental place has no line and I get a free upgrade to the next class. However, with Mike flights get delayed or cancelled and if you are trying to make a connection don’t even think about it. 

So, at 3:30 am we were on the phone trying to reschedule our flight. Ultimately, instead of arriving into San Jose at noon, we are getting in at 7:00pm. Then of course we have the two hour drive to Paso Robles. Happy Happy Joy Joy! 

We are scheduled to bottle at 11am PST  tomorrow and we can not be more thrilled. It is tough to believe that it was November of 2013 that we began this venture. [yep, our first vintage was harvested in November] We signed the contract with the West Side Ranch for one ton of fruit in July of 2013. That is actually  pretty late if you think about it. 

We incorporated  Dracaena Wines on January 4, 2014 and we joined the social media world on February 14th of that same year. I remember being in Cleveland, sitting in the Ritz Carlton [thank you Caesar’s] lounge having a  beer when I looked at our Twitter feed and noticed we had one follower. We were so excited that we had a person following us. Now 3,855 people later I am beyond thrilled. I love interacting with our followers [on facebook and google + also] It utterly amazes me that I “know” and talk to people in Scotland, Finland, New Zealand and South Africa just to name a few places. 

So I sit here with another hour before we land and there is no other word for it than giddy. I am just giddy with anticipation for tomorrow. The interesting thing is as excited as I am for it to happen, I also just want it to be over. I want the wine to be in the bottles and the cases safely delivered to Pack and Ship. Then I think I can relax. The website is running smoothly [knock on wood] and the shopping cart is loaded correctly. Now we just need the wine! 

I think about how much I have learned in these 22 months. I read countless books and spent hours upon hours researching the web  watching videos on designing a website.  I created ours from scratch. I’m not saying it is the best website ever, but I’m proud of what I accomplished. I went from not even knowing what a blog was to publishing a weekly blog that has been recognized by Wine Folly and has trended on Klout. This has been an amazing life experience and we haven’t even gotten to selling a single bottle of wine yet. It is exhilarating to think about where this could go. 

As we get ready to bottle 2013, we already have 2014 in barrel and with the extreme heat, we are very near to harvesting 2015.  It is amazing how life happens. Just a few years ago, I would have bet a million dollars that I would be teaching in Jersey for another 20 years but now, I can’t wait to be in California. If my Exploring the Wine Glass post that will come out tomorrow you will read why I stay in New Jersey. [ it sure isn’t the teacher’s pension/insurance, which if Governor fat ass has his way will be nothing.] Slowly but surely we are transitioning to prepare our lives to live in California. In addition to the winery, we own  property in Arroyo Grande, we have a condo that we rent to Cal Poly students. Seriously, I think we are already living in California, but our bodies don’t know it yet. 

We landed and we got on the road heading South on the 101 for the two hour drive to Paso Robles. As we drove the stars were just absolutely beautiful. That’s what happens when you are not surrounded by light pollution. But here is the awesome part [or at least to me] I started looking around for the Ursa Minor.  Once I find that I always smile [then cry] because from that, if he’s shining, I can  locate the Draco constellation. He was there, all bright and showing his glory. He was above us following us and looking over us. He’s why our name is Dracaena Wines. He is more than just another dog on a label. He is the heart and soul of this winery. Seeing him so vibrant in the sky last night warmed my heart and just reminded me that although he’s not physically with us, he is always watching us [hopefully with all the peanut butter he wants.] We arrived at the Paso Robles Inn at 10:00 pm PST [1:00 am EST] 22 hours after we awoke. 22- I don’t know, maybe just a coincidence or maybe not. 

~Sláinte!