Somewhere between a LinkedIn humblebrag and a sun-kissed, influencer mom flex on Instagram, I snapped out of the doom-scroll I’d found myself spiraling down and put my phone down. The hype culture on LinkedIn and Instagram is especially thick. I find myself going to Facebook for a more lowkey social surfing experience. Facebook skews older, and the older folks tend to less flashy posts. They’re mostly mundane updates and sometimes that’s a nice reprieve from the lifestyles of the social media famous.
The big issue I take with the hype culture is the fact that the hard work isn’t highlighted. Hustle precedes the hype, right? But you rarely see the hustle. It’s not shiny. It’s not clicky. But the hustle can be just as fun to follow as the highlight reel, I think. And when that big moment finally hits, it just lands different when people know the hustle it took to get there.
I’m sharing the hustle in this post; a little day-in-the-life: a working mom, a winery, a baby, a tractor breakdown, and a bottle of Cab Franc. Spoiler alert: No one’s making Forbes 40 Under 40 here. But hey — take a break from the hype, and come hang out in the hustle. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll manifest my next hype moment.
Tuesday in April:
6:45 AM: Wake up. Morning mantra: Today’s going to be great. Cue 13-month-old verbalizing his readiness to seize the day. I get up.
6:55 AM: Baby is occupied with a piece of butter toasty. Coffee poured. I check my email on my phone:
Tasting request — Great. Confirm.
A couple invoices.
Industry news headline: Global wine consumption hits six-decade low. Jeezus.
Wine Club cancellation — 8-year member. Federal employee, job cut with the latest funding slashes. Sad about this one in more ways than one.
Wine Berserkers review of my 2019 Pinot Noir: “Very dark… loamy forest floor… not an AFWE wine.” What the hell is an AFWE wine? Google it. Still confused.
7:15 AM: Most of the butter toasty is on the floor. I’m onto coffee #2. Get baby dressed. Get self dressed. Occupy baby with singing rabbit toy — this buys me exactly 8 minutes. I use the time to write a task list I won’t complete. That’s enough personal time — baby reminds me it’s playtime. We stack blocks and talk about our aspirations.
8:15 AM: Baby gets a bottle and then goes down for first nap of the day. Time to crack open the laptop for some real work. First stop — inbox (again):
Follow up with distributor who is ghosting me (this email will definitely get a reply… maybe)
Confirm purchase order for upcoming bottling. Do I need to tap into the line for credit for this? Make a note.
Post ad to sell bulk wine. I have $60/gallon into it and I’m listing for $25/gallon. This is where the bulk market is in 2025. But Cash flow, right?
Napa County Supervisor confirms site visit with me. This might help us actually build a winery one day. Feeling hopeful.
8: 30 AM: Chip away at website migration. New website launching in 35 days. Much to do before then. Today’s task: finish importing shipping strategies and pricing. UPS fuel surcharge jumped from 17% to 20% this week. Why? No idea. Quick math: I’m losing money. Feeling less hopeful.
9:15 AM: Load up the kiddo in the car, call my husband. He’s in the vineyard spraying sulfur. First application of the season. He says it’s gorgeous out there. Also, tractor overheated. Needs a new belt. Won’t be able to get away from the vineyard for another hour… maybe two. Baby’s coming with me to the winery. Remind myself to be adaptable.
9:30 AM: Arrive at winery to begin blending trials, baby in hand. Offer baby 100 different toys. No interest. Offer baby cork. Success. While baby is occupied, pull samples from 14 barrels. Swirl. Sip. Blend. Take notes. Locate baby. Repeat.
10:30 AM: Fussy baby. Diaper. Feed. Nap (car seat edition).
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM: More blending. Lots of notes. Drop off samples at lab. Handoff baby to husband.
1:00 PM: Back to home office:
Call with my winemaking mentor to share thoughts on blending. We discuss a few different filtration methods and its affect on wine.
AirBnB Experience call: they loved my pitch for Barrel Tasting & Cellar Tour at a Napa Micro-Winery. Submitting for approval. Fingers and toes crossed.
1:55 PM: Briefly daydream about a future where I have a booming experience on AirBnB.
2:00 PM: More calls.
Follow up on lead for potential funding source for ranch maintenance. Today’s call is with North Bay Forest Improvement Program to help thin the forest ahead of fire season. Notes: Pay $6K upfront, non-reimbursable, for a 50% chance at 60% (maximum) reimbursement, maybe. They caution: most small landowners can’t afford this. Funny, the website literally boats Great opportunity for small land owners. Briefly ponder what is small?
3:45 PM: Inbox check:
No distributor replies.
“Updated Grape Processing Fees & Request for Harvest Projections. Good news: no price increase this year. Hallelujah. They want my 2025 projections. Add this to my task list.
Ponder the feasibility of selling Cabernet Sauvignon fruit this year — market’s still trash, but hey, cash flow. Add a note to my task list.
4:00 PM: Work on promotional emails:
An Update from the Vineyard: Budbreak – finished. Schedule to send out tomorrow. Let’s see how this goes.
Special Mother’s Day Rosé Promo Email – finished. Scheduled to go out in two weeks. Let’s see how this goes.
New Wine Release: Cabernet Franc – Almost finished. Needs photos. I’m excited to launch this wine to my customers.
6:00 PM: Golden hour. Pour myself a glass of the Cab Franc I just wrote about. I bring the bottle out into garden to snap some photos for my email while my husband and kiddo do some work on the veggie garden. Feeling grateful. And, let’s be honest, a little buzzed. Or tired? Both.
7:45 PM: Dinner. Baby bath. Baby bedtime.
8:15 PM: Check email on my phone:
Distributor reply – I hope to click on an opening order. The email: “I am definitely interested in bringing in some wine from you, but I am not going to be able to for a month or two.” I set a calendar reminder to follow-up in 6 weeks.
Another Wine Club cancellation. Damn! Cited my shipping prices are much higher than other wineries. I reply and agree completely — my prices are high. I explain that despite my high prices, I am subsidizing, and share what UPS is billing me. Maybe they will reconsider?
New tasting appointment request for this Friday. Maybe this person will join the wine club? Confirm appointment.
9:00 PM: Finish bottle of Cab Franc with husband. Google the term AFWE wine again and debate the meaning with my husband. We conclude AFWE should mean A Few Wins, Eventually. Here’s hoping.
10:00PM: Jumps on IG, scrolls through the hype for a while. Goes to bed and preps to hustle again tomorrow.
